


Dragons heart

by Nuredhel



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Battle, F/M, M/M, Monsters, Mystery, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-03-23 14:21:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 53,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3771484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuredhel/pseuds/Nuredhel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A terrible monster is awakened, a remnant of Morgoth's forces, long forgotten but now on the prowl. The valar can do naught to stop the monstrosity but there are others who may, others from other realms. But will a certain stubborn and seemingly Cold hearted king Accept such strangers within his realm, and is there really anything they can do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Out of the fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story is a cross over between one of my own novels, dragenes by (city of dragons) and Lotr. I kind of wanted to see how those two would mix. I have no idea yet if this story will be short or long but I will give a further presentation of the characters in the next chapter.  
I do only own those characters that comes from my own work, the rest are Tolkiens, I just borrow them for a while and I do not make any profit from this work of fiction. 

 

Chapter one: Out of the fire

Stare into the fire  
Do watch the dancing flames  
What do you see within its raging heart  
Where hunger always do rule supreme

 

Prologue:  
The valley was rather quiet, the heat of summer made the air shimmer and most living creatures had sought refuge in the shadows, trying to endure until the cool breeze of dusk brought some relief. A narrow river snaked its way through the area, now it was almost dry and the water tepid, the animals would come down to it to drink but it brought no relief from the heat, not anymore. It hadn’t rained for weeks and the heat was unusual for this land, it was rather far north and the summers were short and hectic before the cold reclaimed the land and wrapped it in freezing snow yet again. 

Some deer lay underneath the shade of some huge elm trees, they were relaxed and at peace but a couple were keeping an eye on things, just to be sure. Not even the wolves would bother hunting in this heat. The leader of the herd was an old doe, she had given birth to several strong calves and she had always been able to find the way to the best pastures, the herd trusted her. Now she was standing there with her latest calf suckling her and she stretched her neck to reach some leaves, then she suddenly froze. The huge soft eyes scanned the surroundings for the thing that had set off her senses, she turned her head to and fro and her long ears were moving, there was something there, something was wrong. 

Then the earth started to move, a low rumbling sound could be heard and the forest came to life again, in a most unusual way. The trees did sway like a drunken sailor, there were loud creaking and popping sounds as roots and stems were ripped over, rocks fell from the cliffs, the birds all took to their wings in a fit of panic and other animals also came running. Earthquakes were not unheard of in this region but this was a particularly nasty one. The ground did shake as if it was trying to get rid of everything upon it and it lasted for many minutes before it calmed down again. Many animals were killed or hurt and huge areas of forest had been flattened, there was a stench of brimstone in the air and dust and smoke blotted out the sun. 

The herd of deer had sought refuge by the river and they had made it through the whole ordeal unscathed but others were not so lucky. The ground had stopped shaking but the old doe knew it wasn’t over yet. Her instincts were keen, they had kept her alive for over a decade, she wouldn’t let the sensation of peace fool her. Something was amiss. They heard it then, a distant rumbling sound and the doe quickly ran into the woods, something was coming, something very dangerous. She didn’t want to take any risks with her herd and calf. 

A mile further up south a very large canyon started to cut its way through the terrain, it looked as if someone had grabbed a humongous axe and cut into the very crust of the earth and now the canyon had become wider than before, and way deeper. It formed a chasm, and heat rose from it together with smoke and ash and dust. Rocks still came loose from the unstable walls, there was a constant rumble and hissing and then something roared again. A roar that turned triumphant, deafening and mighty. The ground shook again, but more locally this time, something was making its way up towards the light, something massive and the heat made trees growing by the chasm explode. 

It had rested there for so long, awaiting its master’s call. It had never come and so it had slept there for ages, impatient but unable to break free from its bonds. But now the earthquake had set it free, it could do its masters bidding and it worked its way upward, slowly but with fierce determination. It was made to be unstoppable, made to be feared. It was its master’s ultimate weapon and if the dark lord had managed to awaken it back when he was vanquished it could possibly have turned the tide of war completely. It had no concept of time, no understanding, all it knew was that it was free, and the world would shiver before its wrath and power. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The silence of the great hall was eerie this morning, the sunrise always threw such a very delicate light upon the peak of Taniquetil and it made the palace even more beautiful than usual but this morning was different. There was an atmosphere of something almost somber there and the leader of the Valar sat upon his throne and looked very concerned about something. His wife came rushing into the room, she too looked nervous and she stopped in front of Manwë and swallowed hard. “You felt it?” 

He got up and nodded. “Yes, the others?” 

Varda grasped his hand, she was a bit pale. “ Felt it too, Yavanna almost passed out, what is happening?” 

Manwë stared out of the huge open windows, his gaze was distant. “Something forgotten, something we didn’t know of. A relict of a time long gone, a spawn of Morgoth” 

Varda’s eyes went wide and she whimpered. “What?” 

Manwë sighed. “He had many things sworn to his service and he also created some servants of his own, many most terrible. This is one of them, the only one I pray.” 

Varda looked confused and her husband hugged her, he was a bit pale. “I saw many of the scrolls that were taken out of Angband after its fall, one of them mentioned an experiment Morgoth had performed, but it didn’t say anything about the result. But this has to be it, I can sense it Varda, it is…an abomination, something utterly wicked and vile and it has awakened. The very earth shudder from its presence, cringes in disgust.” 

She caught his gaze with her own. “ Then what are we to do?” 

Manwë was staring out into the distance. “There is little we can do, none of us are in Arda, and with the recent fall of Sauron the rings have lost their power too. There is none strong enough to face the thing that has now awakened.”

Varda was wringing her hands, she looked distraught. “But there has to be some way to warn them? It awakened in the north? Then it will most certainly be heading south.” 

Manwë nodded. “Do see if you can make Lorien send some visions, there are still strong minds present, not all have sailed. We have to save them from this terrible enemy.” 

Varda nodded. “ I will go to him immediately. Is there nothing we can do to stop it? I fear it will ruin everything, turn the lands into fields of death. “ 

Manwë shook his head. “ There is not time enough to raise an army, and an army would be useless. Not even our magic is strong enough against this, we can just hope that as many as possible will sail right away, and that it can’t cross the sundering sea.” 

Varda sighed. “ The firstborn might sail yes, but what about the others? What about the humans and the other races? Do we leave them to face a most cruel fate? Do we not care? Do we turn our gaze away from middle earth and leave her to doom and destruction?” 

Manwë closed his eyes. “ This is one enemy like none other we have ever encountered, I fear that the dark one created something so strong he himself didn’t dare to awaken it. There is nothing we can do my love.” 

He turned around and stared out towards the sunset and then he tensed up. “Or is there?” 

He just mumbled and Varda frowned. “What?” 

He spun around on his heels. “ I just got an idea, it could work, it has to work. Our world is yet one of many, there are others who may be able to fight this monster. Go to Lorien, ask him to send dreams and visions and tell him to tell them help is on the way, I hope!”

Varda immediately ran to follow his order and Manwë turned towards the light once more, he felt dizzy and frightened, this threatened the very balance itself, it was as if Morgoth somehow had managed to reach through the doors of night and yet again created discord within the great music, and he seriously doubted that this was in Illuvatars great plan. It had to work, he had to find someone somewhere capable of stopping this monstrosity. The very idea of what he just felt sent shivers down his spine. It could bring forth the end, way ahead of time. He closed his eyes, gathered his powers and started to seek souls capable of facing such a challenge. 

 

The two elves were sleeping soundly, curled up together in bed like they had for the past ages and the warm breeze caressed their hair and skin where it was exposed. Celeborn sighed in his sleep and pulled his wife even closer to him, they had celebrated the fall of Sauron just months ago and the world was still in a bit of turmoil. But they had hope now, and the future looked brighter. He felt her sweet smell and felt at ease when she was this close, he could protect her from harm then. She groaned in her sleep, tossed around and suddenly she went completely rigid. Celeborn awakened within the blink of an eye, he knew something was wrong. 

Galadriel gasped, then she shrieked and her body arched off the bed, stiff as a board and shuddering all over. He stared at her in wide eyed fear and she went completely limp and just collapsed in a heap, sweaty, teary eyed but awake. He embraced her, very frightened and confused, “Meleth, what is wrong?” 

His voice was thin and shivering and she sat up, slowly while panting, her eyes were wide. “ A vision my dear, a most horrible vision.” 

Celeborn embraced her, kissed her hair, feeling a strange chill rushing through him. “What did you see?” 

She trembled. “ A warning, something has awakened, something terrible. Up north, it is…something Morgoth created and yet feared to use.” 

Celeborn stared at her and his eyes were wide with shock. “ Valar no, not now!”

She got the sweaty locks of hair out of her face, her eyes were dark. “ The message was clear, the Valar know Celeborn, and they can do nothing. We have to warn everybody, not all may be reached in this way.” 

Celeborn bit his teeth together. “ Thranduil. He never listens to anybody, not even the Valar. He thinks he is safe in that fortress of his.” 

Galadriel pulled her blankets tighter around herself. “ This time he won’t be safe at all, that fortress is no match for the beast of Morgoth. He must prepare to evacuate his people if it heads that way and I fear that it will.” 

Celeborn felt ice cold to the very core. “ How can we save people, we cannot gather everybody and get them to leave for the blessed realm in just days or weeks.?” 

Galadriel leaned her head onto his shoulder. “ The warning spoke of help, the Valar will bring us help. That was all it said though.” 

Celeborn closed his eyes, held her tight. “ I will send riders to Mirkwood right away, and to Imladris too.” 

Galadriel smiled. “ Elrond already knows, believe me, I felt I touched his mind too during the vision, They are preparing but we are closer to Thranduil’s realm.” 

Celeborn nodded, Thranduil was after all a relative and although he was stubborn like none other he was a well respected king and a fierce warrior. Celeborn got out of bed and walked barefoot across the floor of their talan, he went over to a desk and wrote something on a parchment, then he made a few copies, sealed them and put his own sign in the wax. He put on a robe, went out and after just a few minutes riders were dispatched, they had been given strict orders. They had to reach Mirkwood and they had to do it fast. They were not to stop for anything or anyone. 

Celeborn returned to bed, Galadriel reached out for him, embraced him and he knew that she needed to be comforted, to feel safe. He kissed her neck and pulled her close and she closed her eyes and just relaxed. She had done what she could do at the moment, now they could just hope that the Valar did manage to find someone capable of fighting the monstrosity that had been brought forth. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Whoa, easy, easy there” The voice was calm and yet filled with tension, the loud whinnying of a frightened horse could be heard through the forest and the animal rolled its eyes and reared yet again. The tall elf holding its lead rope was struggling to calm it down. “ Damn it Rarach, if you keep panicking every time you see Arazz eating this will be a long journey indeed.” 

He threw a quick glance over at the dragon that sat underneath a tree, gnawing away at a dead deer. The young stallion snorted and danced and refused to calm down, the elf shook his head. “Wougar! I need your help!”

A very tall figure got up from the camp fire and walked towards them, almost eight feet of tha’lar elf stared at the frightened horse and he grinned. “Again hu? You ought to get yourself an elven bred horse, not one of those skittish thoroughbreds.” 

Wougar reached out and touched the horses forehead, he whispered a few words and the horse immediately calmed down, became completely manageable. He petted the horse on the neck. “He is a good one, but too young for this. Qu’ghan, I can get you a steed from our people.” 

The younger elf smiled but the smile was a bit stiff. “ I know but I will tame that darn colt, or die trying!”

Wougar just chuckled. “ Well, you are too stubborn mellon, but then again, you might succeed. Or end up with a broken neck.” 

Qu’ghan shook his head. “ I didn’t survive a millennia with Kheran and his group to be killed by a horse, believe me!”

Wougar just raised an eyebrow and smirked. “ Let’s hope so.” 

Qu’ghan tied the horse up again next to the other steeds, Wougar’s animal stood at the other end of the meadow, it was not a horse but a zahar, an animal which resembled a horse to some degree but it was omnivorous and very fierce and accepted only one rider. In front of the fire a giant feline lay licking its paws with slow and methodical determination, it was the size of a horse and Qu’han had been utterly shocked when he joined the group and met Bloodjaw for the first time. He had never even known that such creatures did exist. 

He sat down and stared at the faces assembled there, Kheran, his former captain and leader, the most deadly assassin and warrior of the dragon empire and by his side his mate Morghian. She was a former officer of the dragon city and she had saved the entire city but she had paid a terrible price. The young elf was in awe of her, for she was a true dragon in humanoid shape and more powerful than anyone could imagine. Kheran was of the same bloodline, he was the one the powers had put their hope upon and the original chosen one but he didn’t have the right type of power. He was an elf, with some dragons blood yes but not enough to be what he had been meant to be. And he was too bloodthirsty and addicted to violence to be completely trusted, Morghian had tamed him, but only to a certain degree. He was still lethal and Qu’ghan remembered all the times they had fought side by side, it was memories that were precious to him and yet frightening. 

Next to them Wougar had sat down with his friend and lover R’enith, she was another tha’lar elf, extremely tall as they all were, tattooed and primitive looking but the shaman and the priestess were a terrifying unit. Their powers were undeniably great and right now Wougar had created a safe zone for them, nobody with evil intent would find this meadow and R’enith had turned the frosty night into a warm and comfortable one.  
Next to them Abry had sat down, she was gnawing at a leg of lamb and Qu’ghan had to grin. The woman looked like a human, a very pretty human too, but she was a were cat and very dangerous. The glowing eyes were the only thing about her which gave away her true nature and she could fight like a devil if she had to. And she was a dancer, not even the gods could dance like Abry when she let herself go and just let the music fill her. She became sensual and elegant and tempting and she used to brag about the fact that she could make men come undone just with her dancing. He didn’t doubt that. 

Qu’ghan was a dancer too, it was his disguise, his way of getting to the targets he had been sent to assassinate and he was very good at both dancing and killing. The two of them had often shared a dance and sometimes bedfur’s too and nobody would be able to resist them when they really wanted to capture someone’s interest. Abry was a mischievous one, she embraced life with a fierce joy and she never backed away from a challenge. He liked that. The group had also one more person or person? She sat next to Abry and they were chatting away about dresses and shoes of all things, females are females no matter what race they are of. Yliahr was also a dragon but not of the original ones, she was of a much younger race created to help and aid their masters in the great wars of old. 

She was not able to hide her identity the way Morghian could, nobody who saw Yliahr could mistake her for a human being, Her skin was red and her hair and eyes too, she was tall and slender and her sharp teeth and flaming gaze could scare the living daylights out of anyone. He had been a bit scared of Yliahr at first but he liked her, she was after all a mighty dragon and with her by their side they had few enemies who could hope to cause any problems. One of the group had left just two weeks earlier,. Yrrbram was a man who also had fought side by side with Kheran, he was a human but had been given immortality by accident, he was more than five hundred years old and it had made him both a bit bitter and melancholic. Yrrbram had fractured a leg while crossing a river and he chose to stay put in a village until it healed, he didn’t want to cause any problems. 

Arazz growled and Morghian got up, walked over and scratched the young battle dragon under its massive jaw. It closed its eyes and purred to her and she helped it getting rid of some pieces of meat that had gotten stuck between its teeth. Arazz had been the steed of her tutor and protector but when he died in the final terrible battle against the leader of the evil black dragons Arazz had chosen her as his new rider. He was a brutal looking beast, bred for war and only for that but she had discovered that the animal was far more gentle than one could expect. The battle dragons were just animals unable to speak or think but she had always had an uncanny ability to understand them. He was larger than the dragons the city had owned before the war, about five meters tall and three times that long, the huge wings were folded up and just as the riding dragons he was a wyern. His front legs were also his wings, he used the knuckles to walk on. The dragon was almost black but he had stripes and spots in a dark red color and he was beyond any doubt the steed of a general, made to lead the troops into battle. 

Morghian had been proud to be an officer, to be a dragon rider and to protect the city and the empire but when the war ended and she was the hero everybody suddenly worshipped it all became too much. She had to leave or lose the very core of her own being and so they had chosen to just travel and explore and let fate lead them wherever it wished to. She felt that Kheran was staring at her, he never left her side for long and she knew it was normal for a soul bound couple. Humans don’t bond like that, but she and Kheran had, the tall elf was the other half of her and she couldn’t imagine a life without him. If she had chosen to return to the world of the true dragons with her kin she would have been able to regain her dragon form again, but Kheran would not have been able to follow her and she would rather die than lose him. Her choice had been an easy one. 

She petted Arazz on his neck again and stared at her hands, around each wrist she wore a bracelet, an honor bond. They were wrought from moon silver and could never be removed once in place. She was bonded with Wougar and R’enith too, in a way created solely by magic. The bonds could not be removed as long as she was alive and her guardians would always know where she was and how she was. It felt like a burden, like being spied upon but she was grateful too. Their powers made her safe when she was weak, gave her strength and confidence. But it had also created problems, for some reason the bond between Kheran and herself was so strong it enabled Wougar and R’enith to feel his presence too, and it could be a bit confusing and overwhelming at times. 

And she knew too darn well how Wougar felt about her, she could sense it very well, she could almost smell it at times. He loved her, fiercely and with absolute devotion but she was already someone else’s mate and she was not one to share. She liked Wougar, and he was as beautiful as every elf but the tha’lar were intimidating too, very different from the ordinary elves races. Their origin was so far back in time nobody really knew from whence they had come and their strength was legendary, as were their magical abilities. R’enith on the other hand loved Wougar, and she suffered knowing he did care about her and that he in a way also did love her but she could never own his whole heart. That was the priestess tragedy and Morghian was very sad on her behalf, but hearts do not let common sense stop them from feeling the way they do. 

She returned to the camp fire, they had travelled for months, they had left the empire and were in the mountains of the north. She had always wanted to see them and it was spectacular and wonderful and a bit scary too. The nature was so wild there, so unpredictable. But with Arazz and Yliahr they were safe and Wougar and R’enith often used their magic to protect the group. Yet Morghian could not relax, there was something nagging at the back of her mind and she didn’t know what it was. 

Kheran let a hand glide through her long dark locks, he tilted his head and the flint grey eyes glittered. “ You look like a cat on a windy day starry eyes. “ 

She leaned into his touch, closed her eyes in bliss. “ I feel uneasy my love, that is all.” 

He pulled her closer, kissed her neck underneath her ear and she shuddered and gasped. “ I can make you much more relaxed. “ 

His husky voice told her what he was thinking about and she saw that Abry grinned with a vicious glimpse within her eyes. “ Oh no, not again. You kept us all awake for hours the last time he had that look in his eyes.” 

Qu’ghan had been very glad to see that his former captain had found a new love, the loss of his previous mate had been pretty close to killing him too but the younger elf was a bit jealous too. He wished he could have that sort of connection with another as that couple shared. 

Morghian showed Abry the finger and the dancer giggled and rolled her eyes, Wougar sniggered and Yliahr lifted an eyebrow in an expression of mock shock. Kheran just grasped Morghian and lifted her and she squealed and wriggled but his arms were strong as steel and she didn’t mind a quick tumble. He found a patch of soft grass covered ground behind a huge elm and laid her down before he started tearing off their clothes. Morghian was still amazed by his appetite and passion, and in awe of his beauty and strength. 

He had earned the nick name Steelhand back when he was working for the emperor as an assassin, the reason was that he had crushed the head of a huge orc just with his hand and Morghian didn’t doubt the truth in that tale. He was extremely strong, even for an elf. The flint grey eyes had gotten soft with desire and yet they were burning and she helped him get her pants off before he ripped them apart, he had done that on a few occasions and she was no seamstress so she tried to avoid that outcome. Kheran had thick waist long hair and it looked like silk, but it had a peculiar color. It was black at the roots but got lighter towards the tips and so it held every hue from nightblack to silvery white and some stripes went up and down, it was most unusual among elves to have such strange hair and he did cause some confusion when he showed up. The harsh and yet handsome features could seem frightening but Morghian knew him and she was never afraid of him. He would never hurt her and she was very lucky to have him. 

She still remembered her previous lover Ayren, another officer who had gotten killed in the first attack upon the capital. She too had gotten severely wounded, she had almost died and she had wanted to die and be reunited with him on the other side but destiny had something else in store for her. She knew now that Ayren never would have been able to cope with the truth of who she really was, the last true dragon of their world, the last chosen one. Kheran could, and he did. He never had any problems accepting the truth, his people didn’t find it weird that a female chose to fight or lived as a male. 

Kheran did have a warriors body, he was scarred and toned and more muscular than most elves with the exception of the tha’lar race. She had seen what he could do with the two blades he carried and she had the greatest respect for his skills, she was a good warrior but she was nowhere near being as perfect as him. Greedy kisses and caresses turned to more and before long they both were lost in their passion and hunger. 

When they returned to the camp fire the others had gone to rest, wrapped in their blankets. Bloodjaw sat there washing its fur and the horses were calm too, the breeze did rustle the leaves and Morghian felt at ease. She was glad the others were sleeping, she knew they would have made jokes otherwise. She was a loud one and Kheran was also unable to stay quiet, he would often roar or scream when he came and he had rather good lungs so everything in a miles radius could hear him. Morghian saw that Wougar was awake, he didn’t move though, but the glowing green cats eyes of the tha’lar followed her and she saw the sorrow and longing in them. It made her feel guilty somehow. If she hadn’t had Ayren when she first met Wougar it wasn’t unthinkable that she would have fallen for him but she wasn’t used to the idea of many living together as spouses. To elves that was rather normal and nothing anybody wondered about but her human upbringing was hindering her. Kheran would not have felt bothered by it if she chose to involve Wougar in their relationship, he knew that her heart belonged to him and the bond between soulmates could never be broken. She just found the idea of it a bit unsettling. 

She fell asleep with Kheran’s large worn hand on her hip and she wondered what the next day would bring them, the area was beautiful and filled with wildlife and she had seen a lot she never had even heard of before. The journey had somehow reawakened her joy and her spark, if she had stayed in the city as a symbol and pretty face to be shown to others at festivals and celebrations she would have withered for sure, it would have killed the very light in her. She was a warrior at heart, not some trinket. 

Morghian woke up with a most peculiar feeling, it was as if she was dead drunk and at the same time suffering from one hell of a sugar high. She groaned and realized that someone was shaking her rather violently. She opened her eyes and stared at the faces of Wougar and Qu’ghan and both were pale with wide eyes and rather startled expressions. She shook her head and then she noticed a very obvious change from the day before. The meadow was no longer as it had been, it had shrunk and the open forest surrounding it had been replaced by a thick and dark and somewhat sinister looking forest. The horses stood where they had tied them, Bloodjaw and Arazz were there and so were Wougar’s zahar Bladesong so nobody was missing but what the hey had happened? 

Morghian got onto her feet, it smelled differently, it felt differently and she still had that strange feeling in her head. Kheran stood by a tree, bent over and he was retching. R’enith stood by another tree and she did the same and Abry was on her hands and knees saying goodbye to everything she had eaten the last day. Yliahr didn’t seem to be affected though and she just looked curious. Wougar was obviously very upset, he was almost panting and his eyes flickered from one side to the other, he was covered in sweat and shivered. “What in the name of the ancients have happened? Where are we?” 

R’enith managed to get a hold of herself. “ This is not Dhra’ khib, that is for certain. This is a different world.” 

Kheran turned to Morghian. “ Could it be your real home? Where the dragons originate from?” 

Morghian shook her head, this didn’t feel anything like the sensation she had had when she for a short while had entered that dimension. “No, no such luck I am afraid. This is a strange land.” 

Qu’ghan shook his head and his eyes were blurred, he didn’t look well at all. Wougar patted his back and the slender elf groaned and bent over, his pale white face turning a sickly green. Wougar sighed. “ Whoever it was that got us here, they didn’t exactly do it with gentleness, I feel like I have been fighting a whole army damn it.” 

Kheran was having trouble standing up, he almost looked cross eyed for a moment and that was rather impressive, usually he had a stone face. He grasped the hilt of one of his sword as if it was a life saver. “ Wherever this is, I am sure it is rather dangerous, I can somewhat feel it.” 

Abry rolled her eyes and got up onto her feet, she looked awful. “No shit, can someone please stop that infernal spinning?” 

Morghian tried to smile but her face felt stiff, so the others felt dizzy too, no wonder. She felt a tingling sensation all over and knew that it was due to a rather immense use of magic. It was no accident, someone had deliberately thrown them out of their own world and into this one, wherever it was. Wougar was tense, he tried to open his senses to the forest but it didn’t feel right, it felt…angry. Almost hostile and there was agony there, a sort of wailing lament hidden within the general song of the trees, he tried to reach out, to comfort them but they shut him out. It was a most unusual reaction, something was very wrong there. The shaman straightened himself up and tried to get a grip of himself, he sighed. “ We cannot linger here, it is not safe. Do break camp and do it fast. “ 

They all gathered their belongings, rolled up the blankets, got the pots and pans back onto the pack horses, saddled their own animals. Wougar did ride without a saddle, a zahar never allows its rider to use any tack and the animal had a strange sort of mental connection with its chosen rider, he could almost talk to Bladesong. Morghian saddled her cream colored mare Icewind and the horse was nervous and skittish. She didn’t like the sounds and scents there at all. Qu’ghan’s young brown stallion was rolling its eyes and whinnying and even Kheran’s destrier Rhekk was dancing around. The group left the small clearing in a hurry, Yliahr rode a huge mule since horses would bolt if she tried to ride them, and Bloodjaw ran next to them panting and looking a bit uncomfortable too.  
Arazz had taken to the air and flew up above in wide circles, Morghian had thought of riding him but had decided against it, she saw that the forest was very dense and she didn’t want to leave her friends and be safe up there if something happened down between the trees. Wougar decided that they should head westward and they all agreed, one direction was probably as good as the others since they had no idea of where they were. 

The forest did indeed look sick, thick moss was hanging off the trees, dripping with moisture but it wasn’t the fresh water of a normal forest, this was some sickening oozing liquid that stank. Rotten wood and strangely colored mushrooms covered the land and fallen trees made it difficult to move forth. Qu’ghan shuddered, he found this place creepy and unpleasant and Kheran did too. They were at least partly from the same race of elves and shared the same tall elegant and yet strong body type. Qu’ghan was in fact the son of a noble lord of one of the main houses of their nobility, he had been disowned due to a rather juicy affair with the daughter of the high priest and also his eldest son. It had been a scandal but Qu’ghan had been more than happy to turn his back to the constant power struggles of the high society.  
He had met Kheran at the military academy and had always worshipped the famous warrior as a symbol of strength and independence.  
Kheran too was a high born, but he was a bastard, his mother had had an affair with a man from an almost forgotten branch of the elven race and Kheran was the result. Her husband had accepted the boy as his own since he saw the strength in the child but Kheran had proved to be too much of a handful. He was a rebel at heart, he was unable to bow to the strict codes and rules which controlled everybody of the high society, he became a warrior and then an assassin and he was famous throughout all the seven kingdoms, and feared. 

Now they all fell into a fighting mode, keeping their weapons ready and their senses open. R’enith were using her magic, scanning the surroundings for danger and she was so confused, there were darkness everywhere, evil lurking all around them as if it permeated the very air. Morghian felt her skin crawl, she felt like hiding in some hole in the ground, this was not good at all. 

They had ridden for some hours when Bloodjaw suddenly growled and the fur stood up along the animals back. Wougar stopped Bladesong and stared out into the darkness, they could hear a very low but incredibly sinister clattering sound and Morghian felt a scent that floated on the air and it made her nauseous. R’enith had an expression upon her face of utter disgust and she had let go of the reins. Qu’ghan had pulled out each and every one of his long sleek throwing daggers, he hissed and looked a bit like a snarling cat. Abry and Yliahr sat at the back of the group and they looked a bit confused. 

Then something moved, ahead of them and around them, something rather large and very fast and Morghian almost screamed when she saw that it was spiders, bloody huge hairy spiders with vicious looking eyes and huge gaping mouths with teeth that looked more like those of a shark than an arachnid. Kheran swore, he had pulled both swords and his huge red destrier was snorting and stepping, eager to fight. Wougar began to chant, a low almost menacing sound with no real words, just a sound that made the hairs stand up at the back of their heads. The spiders stopped, it was as if they had hit a wall of some kind. R’enith whispered her own chants, her magic was less bound to the powers of nature than Wougars, it came more from herself and it could thus wear her out but she was not a force you should play with. She was formidable and very skilled and now a huge ball of light rose into the air above them and cast a very harsh and strong light onto the surroundings. The spiders shrieked, tried to turn around and get away from the terrible light but they couldn’t move. Wougars magic had bound them to the place and moving was like trying to cross a deep river while wearing lead boots. 

Kheran grinned, a wide and vicious grin. “ Qu’ghan, you take the left flank, I take the right one.” 

The two were off their horses and the barrier didn’t stop them. Kheran started killing spiders like it was just an everyday affair and Qu’ghan was dancing through the spiders on the other side of the path. He threw his daggers and they returned to him when they had done their job, it looked as if the air around him was filled with flying steel at any time. Morghian sighed, she felt angry, and she hated spiders. These were particularly nasty, she could sense that they weren’t natural, they were abominations, monsters. They were made from darkness and evil and she could feel their minds, cold and dark and filled with naught but hatred and hunger. Morghian could no longer transform herself into a dragon, she had lost that ability when she used all her power to rebuild the city, she had burned herself out. But she could still control fire to a certain degree and so she let her disgust manifest itself as fire but not the usual sort of flames, she formed a ball of pure plasma with her mind and it wasn’t much larger than a child’s hand but it shone with the light of a small sun. 

She aimed for the huge group of spiders in front of them and just let it fly. The ball passed through the hairy bodies as if they were made from butter and the spiders made awful sounds and fell, one by one. The ball kept flying around until there were no spiders left in that direction. Kheran and Qu’ghan had finished the spiders attacking their flanks and both looked very pleased. Kheran had a wide smile on his face and his eyes were shining, Qu’ghan tossed his waist long dark blue hair back and laughed and Morghian sensed yet one more time the bond between the two. They had fought together long before she had ever been born and she just knew that Qu’ghan knew Kheran in a way she never would, bonded or not. He had seen her mate back when the empire was young, when assassinating the enemies of the young nation was needed. 

Wougar stopped chanting and R’enith let the orb of light disappear too, Morghian called the fireball back and absorbed its energy. She felt stronger immediately, invigorated. But the energy was somewhat stained, it didn’t feel quite right and she knew that she shouldn’t kill any more spiders like this, the life energy she got from them was not good for her at all. She shook herself free from the shivering feeling and Kheran looked at her, concern visible in his eyes. “ Are you alright starry eyes?” 

She nodded, gave him a thumbs up, The two mounted their horses again and Wougar was staring at the dead spiders. “At least a hundred of them, and so large, I don’t like this, at all!”

Kheran petted his blades. “ I got thirty three I think. “ 

Qu’ghan sent his former captain a rather naughty wink. “ Oh, I got twenty nine, you beat me with just four!”

Abry rolled her eyes. “ Males, everything becomes a competition doesn’t it?” 

Wougar sent them all a rather tired glance. “ Please, be quiet, I sense that this is just the beginning, there are more foul beasts in this forest and I do need some silence to be able to sense them.” 

Kheran just sent him a polite grin but Morghian knew the flame she saw in his gaze, battle fever. He was never far away from getting caught by its dark allure and she knew that he would be very passionate this night and possibly less gentle than usual too. It was just the way it was with him, bloodshed got his blood pumping and if they had been alone he would have been all over her already. She could sense it through their bond. Wougar urged Bladesong on and Bloodjaw sniffed at a couple of the carcasses and growled, there was nothing edible there at all. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The great hall was rather silent, most of the elves were busy elsewhere and the king sat on his throne with a book in his hands, he had sent some troops out to get rid of a few spider’s nests but he feared that they would have little success. Sauron was perhaps defeated but all of his evil hadn’t disappeared with him and the forest was still suffering. Dol Guldur was still a problem and the orcs still came surging from that old fortress like a never ending river. They had to breed like bunnies. Thranduil had been beside himself with relief when his son returned home after the war against the evil lord but he was less than thrilled learning of his decision to move to Ithilien. Still, it was better than receiving the message he had feared the whole time, that his son was lost for him. He of course knew that Legolas was suffering from a severe case of sea longing but he had never felt that pull and had no way of knowing how bad it was. 

They had feasted and rejoiced and the general mood of the kingdom was lifted, there was some optimism to be found now and they hoped that the future would be lighter than their past. And yet their time was drawing to an end, the elves were leaving, ships sailed west never to return and Thranduil knew that he would wait, he could not leave before all of his people had left too. It was an oath he had sworn long ago and he was going to stand by it, no matter what. He was too attached to this realm to leave before he absolutely had to. 

He was reading some poetry book and it was not even good but it was new and he hadn’t read it before, that was enough for him right now. Some of the poems made him scoff and he started to believe that this poet was writing while under the influence of something far stronger than miruvor, or he had smoked his own used socks. He was frowning while reading a poem that a four year old human could have done better when one of the guards came, bowing before the throne. “My liege, a messenger has arrived from Lothlorien, it is urgent.” 

Thranduil sighed, he felt a strange chill running down his spine, now what was this? “Let him inn” 

He still had some problems trusting his neighbors, they were Noldorin and he had always been able to protect his realm all alone. Yes, his warriors were perhaps not as disciplined as the troops of Lothlorien or Imladris but that didn’t in any way mean that they were less efficient. Far from it, he was very proud of his Silvan and Avari troops. 

The messenger was followed in and the king immediately knew that something was very wrong indeed. The ellon was covered with mud and he was so tired he was shaking all over like a leaf in a storm, he looked awful. The guard had to give him a hand so he didn’t collapse. He held out a piece of parchment and Thranduil saw his relative’s seal upon it, strange, usually it was Galadriel and not Celeborn who sent messages. Was something wrong with anybody he knew? Had something happened? 

He gave the guard the order of making sure that the messenger got a decent rest, food and a bath and a new horse as his old one had collapsed from fatigue. He opened the parchment, feeling a bit nervous while doing it, why he did not know. It was not happy news, he just knew that by now. He started to read and he gasped for air, feeling a bit faint. Was this real? Could it be true? Or was Galadriel exaggerating or maybe she just had suffered from a nasty nightmare? He could hope that it was so but his instincts told him that she was right. Something was very wrong, it lay in the very air itself and he felt a terrible fear rush through him. He had gotten his son back home alive, he refused to let him endanger his own life yet again, if there was some monster heading this way then he was the one to face that challenge. His son had done his fair share of fighting, if anyone was to perish it ought to be himself, not Legolas, never him. 

He read about the valar promising to send help, yeah right, He had no faith in them, no trust. They didn’t care about the people of Middle earth, they had caused havoc before with their lack of understanding and compassion, the doom of the Noldor were the best example of that. Yes, they had finally participated in bringing Morgoth down but the result had been a cataclysm, huge landmasses had become sea and the face of Arda forever changed. If they sent help well, he would believe it when he saw it. 

He let the parchment rest in his lap, there was no way of knowing if the monster was heading their way, if it was moving at all, or what it was. A dragon? He remembered the tales of Ancalagon the black, and Glaurung. Something so powerful Morgoth hadn’t dared to awaken it even to save himself?! Gods, it was just so hard to believe. Could he order people to evacuate just because of a parchment? No, he didn’t want to cause a panic, he would wait and see and perhaps send some scouts out to check if something indeed was amiss further north. He called for his butler and ordered him to gather some of his best captains. When they arrived he briefed them shortly of the parchment and its content and he ordered them to send five groups each consisting of ten warriors northward to see what this was about. The captains left and he sat there staring into the darkness, not really knowing what more he could do. He almost started when one of the palace servants came running, looking a bit pale. “My lord, one of the hunters returned just now, and he swore he saw a dragon above the woods just south east of here.” 

Thranduil got up onto his feet, he felt as if his heart had dropped several inches within his chest. “How big?” 

The servant swallowed. “ Not very big at all my lord, perhaps a juvenile?”

Thranduil forced himself to look calm, a juvenile? Even a young dragon could wreak havoc but this was most certainly not the monster he had been warned about. This was something else. He nodded calmly to the servant. “ I will look into it.” 

He got out of the throne room and walked towards his office, he sent another servant to go gather his son and some other warriors. Legolas came right away, he had been training and he still had his blades strapped to his back. He bowed before his father and Thranduil nodded back, he let the pride he felt show within his gaze. “ A hunter has claimed to have seen a dragon, southeast of here, do check it out but be careful. If it is indeed a dragon then observe it, see if it is heading in our direction or not but do not engage it. Even a young dragon is a terrible enemy.” 

Legolas smiled, he had never thought that he would see a dragon again, he had believed that Smaug was the last one but perhaps there had been eggs hatched somewhere. Nevertheless, it made his heart beat faster and he felt a strange tingling sensation of excitement rush through him. This was something he would enjoy doing, and he remembered the monstrosity that had been Smaug, perhaps he could get the chance to bring down a dragon too? He bowed and gathered his best archers and scouts, if there was a dragon there then he would at least try to get a look at it, he promised himself that. 

Thranduil stared after his son as he left the room, he swallowed and grasped a decanter and a glass, poured himself a generous amount of wine. He had a strange feeling of oncoming change, something was about to happen that would leave them all as different beings, he just knew it. He had little faith in the Valar but he did have faith in his own intuition and right now it was shouting at him. He sat down by the table and stared at the wine in his glass. It looked a bit like blood and he cringed internally. He had seen enough blood already, he was loathing the very idea of seeing more of it spilled, elven blood above all. But what was it that fate had in store for them now? Would he yet again have to go out to fight to protect those he loved? He stared at his own hands. They knew their strength, and they knew the hilts of his blades very well, he was perhaps a king but he was also among the most skilled warriors of this world. If it came to it he would face the enemy head on, not cowering like some frightened animal. If they were to go out it would be in a blaze of glory, in a battle well worthy of a song. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Yes, he could perhaps hide but he would never crawl, never! 

 

As usual, to every follower, reviewer, thank you all from the bottom of my heart!!!


	2. Out of this world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two: Out of this world

 

The forest didn’t seem to change at all, it was dark and dank and it stank, Morghian was getting more and more uneasy and Kheran rode next to her with his blades hanging from the saddle, just to be ready. Rhekk was tossing its head the whole time and she could see that Qu’ghan was having problems with Rarach again, the young colt didn’t have the discipline needed to endure this. Wougar was very silent and so was R’enith, they were a bit pale and Abry growled to herself. “This is the nastiest place I have ever been, does anything live here at all, except spiders?”

Kheran made a grimace. “I don’t think this forest covers the entire land, it can’t be that big. We have to find a way out.”

Qu’ghan nodded. “Yes, most certainly, there is no grass here for the horses and our provisions don’t last forever either.”

Wougar hissed, he petted Bladesong on its neck and the animal snorted. “There are others here, I can feel it. The trees are whispering of those of light and those of darkness, they fear the lather.”

Morghian felt as if something nasty was sticking to her skin all the time, it made her want to squirm and scrub herself with steaming hot water. Arazz was flying in lazy circles up ahead and the dragon didn’t seem to be disturbed by anything. Kheran smiled at Morghian. “Worry not, I am sure we will find somewhere safe to rest, eventually.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right!”

Yliahr had tilted her head and she looked as if she was listening to something. “There were dragons here, I can feel their breath upon the wind, but no more. They are gone, all are gone.”

Her voice was almost sad and Morghian just shrugged. “Well, if they were comparable with this darn forest I am glad they aren’t here anymore cause damn, they would have been nasty!”

Yliahr just bowed her head. “It is all in the eye of the beholder dragoneye, to some I may appear as awful, but to others I am awesome.”

Qu’ghan chuckled. “Those who find you awful Yliahr are morons and you know it.”

She just gave him a sparkling smile that showed all her long sharp teeth.  
Wougar stopped Bladesong, he tilted his head. “Halt, I can sense something approaching, through the trees, rather fast.”

Kheran touched his blades. “More spiders?”

Wougar shook his head and nodded to the small group. “No, I sense light, possible allies. Hands away from your weapons, if something happens I and R’entith will protect you”

Morghian felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up but she didn’t grasp her sword, she held her hands where they could be seen. She trusted Wougar with her life, as did they all. The shaman was immensely powerful and harbored forgotten skills nobody had practiced for many thousands of years. He gave them a stern glance. “Be quiet, let them come to us.”

Bloodjaw laid down next to Wougar, it yawned and looked like some very overgrown housecat. Except from the color of course, no cat was black with red markings and eartips. 

 

Legolas had ridden out with his group and they had been riding hard too, he was eager to see if this really was true, if there was a young dragon flying over their forest. He wasn’t afraid of it strangely enough, he had seen Smaug and witnessed the total devastation it had brought upon laketown but a young dragon, perhaps just a hatchling couldn’t be that bad, it didn’t have the intelligence and sly wickedness of an adult. 

They had left their horses and ran through the trees and after a couple of hours they did see the dragon, Legolas felt a surge of excitement rushing through him. A dragon, a real one. But it was not at all like Smaug, it was tiny compared to the monstrosity that had overtaken Erebor and the shape was different. The wings more narrow with hooks and claws and the hind legs looked as if this creature preferred to fly instead of walking. The head was rather short and it had some really powerful jaws and horns. Legolas felt confused, he had never heard of or even read about any dragons looking like that, what was this? 

His chief scout Araban squinted and then he gasped. “My lord, that dragon is wearing a saddle!”  
Legolas turned around, the dragon was flying in tight circles and it appeared to be following something on the ground. Could the dark one’s minions have succeeded in taming a dragon? He remembered the fell beasts of the ring wraiths and shuddered. “It is flying as if it is watching something down below, what are we to do?”

Legolas hesitated for a moment. “We go and see what this is, but be careful.”

The others nodded and he felt a bit nervous. Who could really tame a dragon? They were proud creatures, they only sought their own goals and never cared about other creatures and he started to fear that it could be a threat to Erebor. The relationship between the dwarves and the elves was still a fragile one at best and they couldn’t do anything that might threaten the frail peace. If the dragon was seeking gold they would have to bring it down somehow. 

They ran silently through the trees and Legolas started to notice something strange, the trees were chatting away with each other and they sounded almost exited, he tried to tune into their conversations but there were too many of them going on at once and he wasn’t able to separate between them. He only felt that they mentioned something of power, something pure, something very mighty.

Legolas signaled a holt when they heard a horse whinny, they knew then that these weren’t orcs, perhaps humans? There were humans serving Sauron and he didn’t trust anyone before he knew for certain that they were trustworthy. They crept closer, he felt a weird tingling sensation going all over his skin and knew that there was a source of magic ahead. A wizard? One of the Istari? No, none of them felt like that, they were different, this power felt ancient and overwhelming and in a peculiar way enticing. 

He moved through the canopy silently, the trees seemed to be cheering almost, their voices filled with a barely suppressed joy. He stared ahead from behind the stem of an oak and what he saw made him gasp in confusion. Elves? But not elves as he was used to, these were…strange!  
He saw an extremely tall ellon sitting on a weird looking animal that resembled a horse but it had to be some sort of predator, beside him a very tall elleth sat on a pretty mare with grey spots all over and they both had an aura of both majesty and benign power. Behind them sat a very pretty ellon on a young stallion of apparent noble breeding, the weird thing was that the ellon’s hair was deep blue.  
Another very tall ellon sat on a dark red destrier, he looked tough and hardened and he had waist long black, grey and silver hair that shimmered in the light. An adeneth sat next to him again on a cream colored mare, or maybe he was wrong in that assumption for no mortal could have such an aura of power. Another strange adeneth with long curly dark hair and an amazing figure was atop a very nice looking black gelding and behind her a strange hooded person sat on a huge mule. A strange feline lay at the feet of the peculiar animal the first ellon rode, it was the size of that animal or even bigger. 

Legolas saw that the others stared at him, confused as to what to do next, he felt his throat go dry. The group knew they were there, he felt it and they sat still and let their hands be visible, none had weapons visibly reachable and Legolas somehow felt that these strangers were friends and not foes. He swallowed and was about to whisper an order when the tall ellon spoke, the voice was very deep and hoarse and not like any elven voice Legolas had ever heard before, it boomed with power and he knew immediately that this was one very strong soul. “Do come out into the open, fear not if you are of the light, we mean you no harm.”

Legolas told his soldiers to wait, he was to face these strangers but the others were ready if the group was hostile. He walked out onto a branch where he could be seen and where he could dive into cover in a split second. “I am Legolas of Greenwood, to whom have I the honor of speaking, and what is your business in our woods?”

He kept his tone strict, held his chin high and tried to look as if he had every reason in the world to act self-assure. The tall ellon bowed his head slightly, he could see that the elf had a very long thick black braid falling down his back, it was thicker than Legolas thighs damn it. The ellon had strange tattoos covering his skin here and there and so had the female. She was blond with deep golden hair but the sides of her head had been shaved and she too had one long braid, and tattoos. They were indeed different. “I am Wougar of the tha’lar, of Drha’khin. I am the leader of this group, we are travelers and it appeared that we have traveled a bit further than we planned for.”

The last words came with some mirth and Legolas sensed that this impressive creature had a weird sense of humor. But he had never heard of that place nor that race and he felt confused, the rest of the group just sat there and stared and he looked up, the dragon was circling up there and he felt a bit nervous. “Is that dragon yours?”

The adeneth next to the ellon with the strange dark and silvery hair spoke. “He is mine, his name is Arazz, I assure you, he is no threat. He does only what I bid him.”

Her voice was gentle and warm and Legolas felt that she was someone who had been through a lot, there was pain on her aura, and loss. “You have tamed a dragon?!”

Morghian smiled. “Where we are from there are many tame dragons, the guards of my city ride them the way people ride horses, they are animals and naught more, they can be broken and mounted and ridden to war.”

Legolas frowned. “An animal? He cannot speak ?”

She shook her head. “No, he is no different than a horse, just a bit more fierce.”

Legolas let the thing she had said sink in. “Where you are from? You are not from here?”

Wougar shook his head. “Absolutely not no, we were travelling and woke up from a nights rest in this wood, it needs some serious help you know. We ran into some pesky arachnids recently.”

Legolas hissed. “Spiders! I hope none got hurt? Their poison is very potent.”

Wougar smiled. “Nobody got as much as a scratch, we can fight believe me, they are mourning their losses, not us.”

Legolas whistled and the rest of his group made themselves be seen, they were anxious but so far the groupof strangers hadn’t shown any signs of being hostile. He stared at the huge cat. “What is that? And what is it that you are riding?”

Wougar smiled gently. “He is a S’haga, and he is a companion of ours, very intelligent and very practical in battle, he is able to kill a troll with just one strike of a paw. His name is Bloodjaw.  
I ride a Zahar, they are omnivorous and they bond with just one rider, his name is Bladesong.”

Legolas dared to jump down from the tree, once on the ground he really saw how strange these people were. He felt curious and excited at the same time, the pretty female with the curly locks and curves were eying him in a very suggestive way, there was something raw about her and yet she had a sort of dignity that made him speculate if she really was as uncouth as she appeared to be. The blue haired ellon bowed his head to him and Legolas had to admit that he never had seen a more beautiful male anywhere, but the blades on the saddle did tell him that this ellon was a fighter and not just a pretty face. 

Legolas swallowed. “These lands are not safe, and it is the kings command that anybody entering his woods without permission must be brought before him to explain themselves, I hope you will come freely?”

Wougar just grinned. “Why not? Is it safe from spiders and other foul beings and can our horses get something to eat?”

Legolas nodded. “Most certainly, the palace is a few hours ride away but we will get back there before sunset. The forest will be teeming with orcs at night.”

The tall ellon with the black and silvery hair turned his head and there was a strange light in his eyes. “Orcs? You have a problem with orcs? “

Legolas nodded. “Yes, we do.”

The ellon almost smiled. “I haven’t sleeked the thirst of my blades with orc’s blood for quite a while, good to know.”

Legolas felt a chill run down his spine, he knew what kind of warrior this was, one addicted to death and blood, one seeking battle like others seek warmth and food and comfort. It was very apparent for those who could see deeply enough. 

Legolas felt the huge feline watching him but the eyes were friendly and so he dared to approach it. He didn’t reach its back, and the paws were the size of dwarven shields. “I have not heard the names of the rest of your group?”

The tall blonde female smiled, she reminded Legolas of Galadriel, there was great wisdom and gentleness in those blue eyes but also steel. She was perhaps a very beautiful female but she was just as powerful as Wougar, if not even more so. “I am R’enith, I am a priestess of my people, I serve only the light.”

The adeneth who owned the dragon spoke next. “I am Morghian of the dragoncity, I am an officer, or rather, I was an officer, now I am a traveler.”

Legolas was a bit confused by her words, she looked very sad. The ellon next to her grasped her hand in a very possessive manner. “I am Kheran, known as the steelhand, I am a warrior of the dragoncity and Morghian is my bonded mate.”

Legolas had to smile, a tiny smirk. So that was why he acted so protective, a bonded couple? Strange indeed, elves and humans doesn’t normally bond. The blue haired ellon grinned. “Qu’ghan, friend of Kheran and wine, dancing, fighting and females.”

Legolas sensed a light hearted personality, one that lived life to the fullest, he liked that. The woman on the black horse grinned, tossed her hair back. “I am Abry, I am a dancer first and foremost, I can dance the socks of almost anyone believe me.”

Legolas had to laugh. “My lady, I do believe you. “

The last person still sat there with the cowl of the hood covering her face, he could see it was a female and she sighed and revealed her face, he gasped and the other elves stared too, in shock. Her skin was red, as were her hair and she was beautiful and terrifying all at once. She bowed gracefully. “I am Yliahr, I am a shape shifting dragon, I serve only the light.”

Legolas felt stunned, he saw her weird eyes and felt the power that flowed from her like heat in the air, he suddenly felt a weird eagerness. A dragon, if she was large she could help them defeat the forces of Dol Guldur. He spoke before he really had time to think. “Honored one, have you done any fighting?”

Yliahr smiled. “If I have fought? Oh, you should have seen me defend the gates of our great city, no living thing was able to get past my flames and my claws”

There was pride in her voice and Legolas felt his heart pounding, the valar had to have placed them there, yes, he prayed he was right.  
Wougar smiled towards Legolas soldiers. “Lead on my friend, is this palace large?”

Legolas nodded. “Large enough to house our entire population if need be, it is a fortress underground, a cave.”

Morghian tilted her head. “That is very wise, but it can also be a trap. A siege can prove fatal without any way out.”

Legolas shrugged. “Oh but there are secret ways out, only my…the king knows those.”

Wougar had caught the little slip of the tongue. He had seen the way the young ellon commanded the others and saw the royal dignity and power that lay as a cloak around the soul. This warrior had recently fought, he sensed shadows and danger in the past, pain and loss too. This world they had entered was not a peaceful one, it was one wrought with danger and challenges and Wougar started to feel more and more curious about this realm. To see elves living in a forest this tainted by darkness and evil was unusual, they loved their realm with a fierce sense of possession that was almost on the border of becoming madness but it was love, a raw and pure love of something that once had been. Wougar would love to dwell deeper into this mystery. 

Kheran urged Rhekk forth and Legolas saw that this ellon was an impatient one, one used to giving orders and having them responded to with immediate effect. He just hoped that there wouldn’t be a clash of wills between Kheran and his father for he sensed already now that the two of them were one of a kind and far to alike to be able to coexist on courteous terms if they started to argue. They started moving through the forest and R’enith scowled at the visibly sick trees. “This is awful, what is causing it?”

Legolas was not sure if he should be this open towards the strangers but he sensed no harm from them, no evil intent. They were as they had said travelers and they came from somewhere untouched by the shadows of this world. He nodded towards the priestess. “A terrible contaminant, pouring out from an ancient fortress to the south of our realm. It held a terrible power that was vanquished but some of it still remains and we have tried to free our woods from it ever since but to no prevail so far.”

R’enith sighed. “I can smell it, it makes the very air foul and dense and it makes my mind sluggish, almost reluctant.”

Legolas smiled. “As I should have said it myself, it does indeed slow the mind down, makes you vulnerable.”

Wougar was petting Bloodjaw’s neck. “Was the fortress the home of some wizard then?”

Legolas shrugged. “I wouldn’t call him that no, not a wizard but a terrible creature, very powerful and ancient and an enemy of all free folk of this world.”

Wougar tilted his head and Qu’ghan swore as his horse again tried to buck him off, the shaman grinned widely and whispered a few words and the skittish colt calmed down again immediately. “Pardon my friend here, he bought himself a new horse because it is fast, but it is terribly nervous and not properly broken yet. The enemy was vanquished?”

Legolas stared at Qu’ghan who petted the horse gently and hummed to it, he was still a bit mesmerized by the looks of that young ellon, he was extremely fit and well-muscled and yet elegant as a cat. “Yes, after a lot of fighting and great sacrifice, it was terrible. But we won, at last.”

Wougar bowed his head. “Glad to hear that, we have had our own demons to dodge so to speak, there are always something new to fight.”

The wood elves came to the place where their horses were waiting after a while and R’enith smiled. “I see you use little tack on your steeds, that is good. We usually ride without any tack at all but the horse I ride now is a bit head strong and needs it I fear.”

Legolas had noticed how the riders rode as if the animals and they were one, even Abry and Morghian. They were used to a life on horseback and he found that fascinating. He listened to them speaking to each other and he had sensed a strange tension within the group, he couldn’t quite grasp it but it was there. It seemed as if Wougar would address Morghian with the outmost respect but only through Kheran, as if he was afraid to speak to her directly, or preferred not to. It was odd. And Morghian in return acted like someone who was used to giving orders, but she was also very humble towards the others and he understood that they all were persons with power and influence. Neither of these were just ordinary individuals but he had already guessed that much. 

The elves mounted and now they could travel a lot faster, Legolas ended up riding next to Abry for a while, she was actually a stunning beauty but not in the traditional sense, her face was very angular with a rather pointy chin and high cheekbones and her lips were full and sensual, she had a rather prominent nose but it was elegant too and her eyes were cats like and sparkling. Legolas found her fascinating, and she was flirting with him very openly and shamelessly and he understood that it was just for fun, she didn’t really mean anything with it for it was just her personality to be that way. Qu’ghan did send him some strange glances at times and Legolas had a suspicion that those two were more than good friends but not bonded in any way. He grinned to himself, perhaps there was a chance to have some fun? He wouldn’t mind it, both were beautiful and he wasn’t blind neither to feminine nor masculine beauty. 

He told as little as he could about the realm, but he did listen in on the conversation going on around him. He did understand them well, they spoke a sort of westron but they had a strange accent and Abry in special butchered the words to an extent where he had problems making any sense at all of what she said. Wougar and R’enith on the other hand had their own language and he didn’t understand a single syllable although it was a clearly elven language with lots of soft almost mewling sounds and little hard sounding words. Kheran said next to nothing while Morghian was talking a lot to Abry and also to R’enith, the subject seemed to be dress fashion. It made Legolas grin a little, females were alike in all realms or so it seemed. 

He was a bit fascinated by the wild looks of R’enith and Wougar, R’enith had a stripe tattooed along the edge of her eyes and it stretched out towards her temples, she had also several bluish tattoos elsewhere and she wore several earrings each with a drop formed black stone. It had to have some significance for he saw that Wougar had some similar, just more in number. The avari elves often used tattoos to signal a person’s social status, to tell the tale of their lives and deeds and to show their courage. He had even once encountered an ellon who had gotten his privates tattooed and the memory still made him cringe.  
He rode up to Wougar and stared at the earrings. “Excuse me, but I cannot help but notice those rings, do they mean anything?”

Wougar sighed and he made a grimace, Legolas was immediately afraid that he had broken some sort of taboo and was ready to offer a wholehearted apology when the tall ellon answered. “They are what we refer to as mourn stones, each represent a loss.”

Legolas swallowed hard. “Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t know.”

Wougar smiled. “Do not worry, you couldn’t have known, it is a custom only observed among my tribe. I have worn mine for a long time now.”

Legolas stared at the tall ellon, he was also very beautiful but it was a somewhat ragged and rough beauty, the features not as youthful as on most elves but nevertheless very attractive. “They are memories?”

Wougar nodded. “Yes, memories, good ones and bad ones but all a part of my past, of who I am. They define me.”

He reached up and touched them, Legolas couldn’t count them all. “My father, my mother, two sisters, a brother.”

Legolas felt cold, that was awful. Wougar continued on the other side with his other ear.”My wife, a step son, three young children, my blood-brother.”

Legolas couldn’t believe it. “You have lost your entire family?”

Wougar nodded. “Aye, I did, but it is a long time ago, the wounds have healed and do not hurt me that much, most of the time”

Legolas noticed thar R’enith stared at Wougar with a certain tenderness in her eyes but also with sorrow and there was most definitely something there. “I lost my mother, I cannot even remember her though”

Wougar smiled gently.”Perhaps that is a blessing, the less we remember the less they haunt us.”

Legolas tried to smile. “How long has it been since…your loss?”

Wougar shrugged. “Seven and a half millennia, it was an orc raid.”

Legolas gulped, seven and a half thousand years?! He had never met an elf that old before and he suddenly felt like some upstart next to this ancient being. He should have shown greater reverence and respect. Wougar saw his expression and grinned, reached over and patted Legolas on his shoulder. “Worry not, you have not offended anyone.”

He felt silly anyhow and blinked as if to gather his senses. He did notice a strange bracelet on the ellon’s wrist, it was silvery like mithril and very simple, no adornments or anything. He cocked his head and wondered and Wougar saw his expression and nodded. “Honor bands those are called, I and R’enith carry one each.”

Legolas saw that they were pretty but not very decorative, in fact they reminded him more of cuffs than jewelry. “Ah, not to be nosey but what are they for?”

Morghian held her arms up, she carried two! “To bond with someone, without being bond mates.”

Legolas just stared, his eyes flickering from one to the other. “Really? But…”

Wougar smiled gently. “It is hard to explain but both me and R’enith had spiritual debt to pay and so the spirits told us to bond with Morghian, to protect her and be her guardian until the end of all time. The bonds can never be removed once placed and we will always feel her presence and feel whether or not she is safe. And since she is bonded with Kheran through a real soul bond we feel him too.”

Legolas felt his head spin, what a mess?! “So you feel what she feels?”

Wougar shrugged. “Pretty much yes.”

Legolas had to stifle a giggle, that ought to be a bit steamy, he hoped that they didn’t interpret his facial expression the wrong way but they both grinned widely. “Yes, that too!”

Legolas blushed and waved at one of the other soldiers. “Aration, ride ahead and warn the king of our imminent return, and tell him to prepare for guests, very…uh… unusual ones, and powerful ones. He should be ready to welcome them as if they were royalty.”

Aration made a grimace and spurred his horse, this was one message he didn’t look forward to deliver but what the hey, it had to be done and if the king was in a good mood then the prospect of meeting someone so exotic could be tantalizing.  
R’enith was looking a little nervous. “I hope we won’t cause any inconvenience?”

Legolas made a grimace. “Ah, don’t worry about that, but do be warned, my…uh, the king is not used to receiving guests, and he is a bit, shall we say reluctant…to allow other realms to influence his own. He prefers to isolate Greenwood, or at least that is what he has done over the last millennia.”

Wougar nodded slowly. “Your king seems like someone who loves his land dearly and is willing to fight for it too.”

Legolas nodded. “Oh he is, he is the realm, just be polite and show respect and there will be no problems I am sure.”

Kheran hid a smirk, he had also guessed that this captain was more than just a soldier and he had a sense of foreboding. He knew that a warrior like himself often caused some rather peculiar reactions among those who didn’t know him but he was no savage. As a high born he could maneuver through the maze of high society and behave like the most noble and courteous of courtiers if he needed to. It was just that he preferred not to. Morghian saw the glimpse in his eyes and touched his thigh. “Kheran, love, behave!”

Kheran grinned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Of course, if the king has good wine everything is perfect.”

 

They rode along the paths for yet a couple of hours, Bloodjaw growled and grew impatient and Qu’ghan’s horse had started to limp for some reason so the last stretch was ridden in a slow pace. The forest here wasn’t afflicted by the strange malady and it was light and beautiful and R’enith became almost lyrical in her praises of it. Legolas blushed as if she was praising him in person and he already knew that his father would like the priestess. He sensed a deep love of nature in her and a connection with it that was stunning. 

The last stretch of road was usually not allowed for strangers to watch, most were blindfolded but Legolas dropped that. He knew that blindfolding these people were of little use, they could find their way anyhow. Arazz were flying overhead and taking lazy swings around and Legolas wondered how the others would react to it. He hoped nobody panicked and shot at the dragon. They slowed down before the bridge and dismounted and Legolas felt a bit silly, he was eager to show them the kingdom and the palace and he was curious about their reactions. When he said cave most people thought of a dark dank place with little light but the palace of Greenwood was nothing like that. 

Morghian shouted to Arazz and ordered the dragon to go hunting and stay in the area but avoid contact with anyone, Arazz squealed and flew away and she stared after him for a while, it always felt like an extra safety to have the dragon near by. Bloodjaw was also ordered to stay close by and not bother anyone, he would cause an uproar if he was to enter the palace.  
The stable hands that came to collect the horses just stared, they looked as if they were in shock and Legolas smiled. “Worry not, these are friends.”

Galathan who was head of the stables stared at Bladesong. “Ah, my lord, uhm, how do we…tend to this….steed?”

Wougar had dismounted and towered above them all, Legolas couldn’t believe how tall that elf was, eight feet? “Oh, he is gentle as long as you don’t try to tie him up or something. Give him some hay and a steak and he is happy”

The stable hands shuddered visibly, then they took the horses and disappeared towards the stables with them. Bloodjaw was lazily walking behind Morghian and the elves they passed stared at the huge feline with wide eyes and awe. Most were Silvan and sensed that this was no mere beast but a cunning and intelligent being worthy of respect. 

The palace was a shock, it was beautiful with light and air and it reminded them all of a forest somehow. A very elegant and stylistic one which had a very mysterious dimension to it. Morghian found that it reminded her of the city somehow, bridges and walkways and waterfalls, she already loved the place. Legolas got a bit more nervous as they approached the throne room, the guards they passed were wide eyed as everybody else and he hoped that Thranduil were prepared for a shock. He did suspect that these people knew how to behave though, no matter how uncouth they may appear to be. 

Thranduil had received the message and he was shocked and didn’t really know whether or not to believe it but Legolas didn’t lie or exaggerate and there were many strange things happening so why not visitors from a different world? He felt a weird surge of excitement rush through him, he felt alive again, almost young. This was something new, something unexplored and unknown and he had always had a very inquisitive mind. From what the soldier had said these were people in power and he hoped that he could address them as equals, that they could help him forget the shadows for just a little while. 

He had made sure that he did look his best, his crown sitting straight and the throne room lighted in just the right way. He wanted to impress, to intimidate too. If these people had ended up in his woods without them willing it then he would indeed treat them kindly, it had to be a shock. They had fought off spiders, that was something that acquired skills and he felt that maybe they could prove helpful, become assets even. He would have to play his cards carefully, try to decide who and what they were and if they were someone he could benefit from keeping there. It would be a challenge and he put up his most majestic and benevolent expression and tried to look haughty without being overly proud. If these were potential allies he didn’t want to tick them off or anything, he knew how to read others very well. This could in fact be fun! 

He managed to keep his expression when the strangers entered the throne room behind his son, but it was just because of his long training. He had never seen people like that before and were a bit stunned by their appearance. Their clothes were foreign, well made and obviously rather expensive but worn and dirty and they too looked as if they had been travelling for quite a while. He felt the power from the group as something almost physical, like a touch, it was pounding through the air and making him slightly dizzy. Legolas bowed his head. “Aran Thranduil, here are the travelers who has entered our woods, they are from a faraway realm and some magic brought them here.”

Thranduil got up, he tried to look as if he was on top of the situation, as if this didn’t shock him at all. He stared at them and liked that they all showed respect by not challenging him in any way, they kept their eyes down. He watched them silently one by one and was astounded by their looks, most of them were elves but not of the elven races he was familiar with. The one with the peculiar black and silvery hair could have been a noldo but he was more muscular and less refined than the noldorin elves. And the two very tall ones? By Eru, he had only seen one elf that tall and that had been the lord of Beleriand, Elu Thingol. He had never encountered a female as tall as himself but the blonde was of his height and he felt a bit awkward knowing this, but she seemed like a very likeable person, he could sense it. “Welcome travelers to Greenwood, our captain tells me you were brought here unwillingly?”

Wougar was a bit stunned by the king, as all elves he looked young and vigorous but there was a lot of time in those piercing blue eyes and he sensed a soul that had been through a lot and seen a lot too. “Yes your majesty, we were camping in a meadow near the mountains north of the land from whence we came and when we woke up the next morning we were in your wood, dizzy, nauseous and a bit confused.”

The deep voice made Thranduil shudder, elves didn’t normally sound like that but it suited the giant. “Have you any idea of what it was that brought you here?”

Thranduil was carefully scanning through their expressions to see if they found his realm familiar, if they knew anything about him or his home from before but all he saw was wonder and some curiosity. R’enith answered, she was sighing. “No my lord, our magic is strong and we should have been able to locate the source or at least been able to identify it but there was nothing, absolutely nothing. Whatever it was, it was hiding itself from us.”

Thranduil felt a strange shudder pass through his mind, the valar. The valar had said they would send help, was this it then? Could these strange beings help them fight whatever it was that had awakened? He looked down upon the group. “There was a dragon?”

Legolas nodded. “Rather small my king, and not as the dragons of old, just an animal, like a horse. Yliahr here is a shape shifting dragon though.”

Yliahr stepped forth and the king almost gasped when he saw her face uncovered, he felt a sting of fear and also excitement. He had in some ways mourned the fact that there were no more dragons, they were relics of a past that had been both grand and terrible and the world was a poorer one without them. “Is this true my lady?”

Yliahr smiled and bowed her head. “It is your highness, I am a dragon. But not as powerful as Morghian.”

The king turned his gaze towards the very beautiful adeneth, her eyes were weird, he saw that now. “Are you a dragon too?”

He couldn’t believe it, two for the price of one? She smiled. “Yes your majesty, but I have lost the power to shape shift, I can only control fire to a certain degree, and I have some other talents too.”

Thranduil sighed, so much for that idea. But one dragon was better than none. He looked at Yliahr once more, she was beautiful but it was a terrifying beauty. “How large are you in dragon form?”

Yliahr sensed the demanding tone of the ellon but she also felt the curiosity behind his words. She cocked her head. “I wouldn’t fit inside of these halls, that is for sure.”

Thranduil opened his mouth for a second, there was wonder in his gaze but it was swiftly hidden. She had to be grander even than Smaug, by Eru, that could really make a difference.  
He let a hand almost caress his throne, thinking fast. He looked at the group once more, the ellon with the blue hair was most certainly a skilled warrior, as was the one with the black and silvery hair, the female with curly hair and cats eyes was dangerous too, he saw her feminine qualities but for the moment there were other things on his mind. He decided to be open with them, to see what sort of reaction that would trigger. He sat down once more and crossed his legs, his eyes got narrow.  
“I recently received a note from a powerful seer, Galadriel, the lady of light. She had seen a monster awakened from its slumber way up north, an enemy of everything good and free. But she did also see that our deities, the Valar would send help, I have come to believe that you might be that help.”

Wougar tensed up, he cocked his head. “A monster?”

Thranduil nodded. “Yes, in ages past our people along with the humans and the dwarves fought a terrible enemy, a Vala that had turned dark and wicked and he tried to destroy everything, to enslave everybody. In his madness he formed many awful beasts and this is supposedly one of those, one that wasn’t awakened by its master but it has been brought to life now and there are nobody here strong enough to fight it, not anymore.”

R’enith was a bit pale. “That makes sense, the deities can peer through the curtains between the worlds, and see what happens in other realms beyond their own. But do you have any idea of what sort of danger this is?”

Thranduil sighed, she was a smart one, she went straight to the core of the problem. “No, I do not know anything yet, I have sent scouts up north though, to see if they can identify the problem.”

Wougar looked worried. “If we say that this is indeed the truth and that your gods brought us here to fight that thing, then we do need something to work with, real information. When do you thing the scouts will return?”

Thranduil sighed inwardly. “These lands are large, I have no idea to be honest, but worry not, you are my guests and I have ordered my servants to prepare rooms for you all.”

There was a collective sigh of relief and Thranduil got up again, he was feeling more and more curious and wanted to know more of these people, they were intriguing and he found Wougar and R’enith to be interesting in special. “Do go and have some rest and a bath, if you need clothes or anything my servants will provide that for you. There will be a small feast later on to celebrate your arrival.”

Morghian blinked hard twice. A feast? Oh no, she hated such social happenings and was fed up with sitting on display but it appeared that it was Wougar and R’enith that would get most attention. And Morghian was hungry, she had to admit that. Thranduil smiled and gestured towards Legolas. “Escort them to their rooms, make sure that they have all they need.”

Legolas just nodded and Wougar hid a smirk, there was no doubt about the family relations there, Legolas looked way too much like the king for it to be a coincidence and if the elves of this realm was like those of his own then bastard children were an impossibility. 

They followed the golden haired ellon through a maze of corridors and halls that made Morghian dizzy and stopped in front of a row of doors. “There are five rooms prepared, so just choose the ones you like, we don’t know if any of you share a room though so just make yourself at home.”  
Wougar and R’enith took one room and Kheran and Morghian another and then Qu’ghan and Abry took one room each while Yliahr was left with the smallest one. It was still a grand room and she looked very pleased. 

Morghian was in awe, it wasn’t dark or claustrophobic at all, but very inviting and beautiful with live plants and much light. Kheran grunted and looked very satisfied. “He does have class, I must give him that.”

Morghian sat down on the huge bed, it was very comfortable and she was tired but knew that she had to bathe and go to that darn feast before she could sleep. “What do you make out of that king?”

Kheran had found some decanters of wine and sniffed them with an appreciative grimace. “He is strong, extremely strong. I could sense that, and proud too. But first and foremost stubborn and protective of what he regards as his, but not to a degree where he doesn’t listen to common sense or the wisdom of others. He is quite an opponent I bet.”

Morghian got her boots off, it was quite a job. “I agree, I think he did look fierce though, and intimidating in spite of his beauty. Do you think he was right about what he said, that there is a monster here we have to fight?”

Kheran sighed and sat down next to her, helped her with the lacings of her tunic. “Yes, it makes sense, I only wish I knew what it is that we are up against”

Morghian shivered a bit. “So do I, we know naught about this world, it could be anything really.”

Kheran caressed her neck. “Do not start to worry in advance, relax. Let us enjoy this luxury and when we find out what it is that we are to fight then we can worry, not before that.”

Morghian smiled and slid out of her remaining garments, they stunk and she grimaced. The best thing to do with them would be to burn them, she didn’t think they could be salvaged. The bathroom was huge too, with a pool with hot water and Kheran whistled as he waded in, he was impressed and so was Morghian. The warm water was a blessing though and she enjoyed feeling the grime and sweat disappear. 

When they returned to the main room there were clothes left on the bed, Kheran frowned and held up an undershirt and a tunic which looked much better than even his most formal clothes back in the city. Morghian was being gifted with a dress that made her just gasp, it was made from something that had to be some sort of silk and it had a deep violet color that was just gorgeous. Kheran helped her get into it and then he brushed her long dark hair and put some braids into it in the style they had seen the other females there wore. The dress did fit her, that was almost a shock and Kheran stared at her with huge eyes. It was rather apparent that it fitted her and made her look very good. 

A servant came and told them that they were expected to arrive so Kheran got his clothes on and it make him look both dangerous and handsome. He felt naked without his blades though, but nobody there wore weapons except the guards and the ones they carried looked more like ceremonial weapons than really efficient ones. They met the others outside of the rooms, Wougar hadn’t gotten any new clothes since there wasn’t anything there big enough for him, he wore his spare tunic and pants and since they were at least clean it didn’t look too bad. R’enith had gotten a sort of dress that needed a belt and it was made from a very thin almost transparent fabric in bright blue with threads of silver woven into it. It made her look very regal and ethereal and also quite exotic. Qu’ghan wore a dark blue tunic and black pants and it made him look very handsome and Abry wore a dress in red and it was hugging her shapes in a way that made the ellyn they met stare. Yliahr still wore her cloak but she had gotten a brown dress that shone like copper and it did in fact look amazing on her. Morghian felt a bit nervous, she had no idea of what a feast would be like in this realm and she was glad that Legolas showed up to show them the way to the great hall. 

The hall was indeed grand and beautiful and there were elves everywhere, most of them were not dressed in such finery as they were now and she realized that here everybody partied together, high born and commoners alike. She liked that. The king sat at the top of a long table, Morghian noticed that there was an empty seat next to him and nothing was placed on the table there. She hadn’t heard anybody mention a queen and if Legolas was indeed the king’s son then his words of a lost mother told of tragedy. 

The tables were filled with food and she saw little meat though, mostly just venison and some chicken and she felt that it was alright with her. After all, she didn’t like killing innocent animals at all. The king bid them welcome, presented them as visitors from a very distant realm and the elves seemed to accept that wholeheartedly, they trusted their king and it was obvious that they loved him too. Many stared though, some a bit too much for it to feel comfortable. Strangely enough not so many stared at Wougar and R’enith as at Qu’ghan. It was his blue hair that caused most attention and some even tried to touch it! It was obvious that touching someone’s hair was regarded as rather intimate but they couldn’t help themselves. Qu’ghan was used to attention and just smiled but even he felt a bit trapped at times. 

There were some elves there who had to be the kings advisors, they looked far less comfortable with the guests than the king himself and Morghian felt that their eyes were rather judgmental. She was ignored, as was Abry, they were seemingly human and not worthy of attention but Wougar was being scrutinized and he didn’t appreciate it at all. Thranduil looked relaxed though and didn’t care about the sour faces, Morghian sensed that these were old elves, perhaps so old that they believed that they had some reason to anticipate the kings support. 

Legolas sat down next to Morghian and Kheran after a while, he held a glass of wine in his hand and winked at them both. “Don’t worry, the counsellors are old goats, they were also counsellors for the kings father and he is nothing like Oropher, well, maybe a little like him but he doesn’t care about the politics of the other elven realms. “

Kheran emptied his chalice, the wine was good and he was very comfortable there. He smiled at Legolas. “Well, do tell us about the other realms then, and the history of this world, we are curious.”

Legolas immediately started with the very beginning and Morghian let her chin rest in her hand and rolled her eyes. This was going to be one long night indeed!


	3. Of darkness unbound, of unlight unveiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mature in nature due to some rather saucy situations, yep, Thrandy is gonna get some… and the enemy is making its first appearance…

Chapter three: Of darkness unbound, of unlight unveiled

 

The great hall was buzzing with activity and the guests were quickly engaged in conversations with the locals, the silvan elves were fascinated by R’enith and Wougar, their somewhat wild looks reminded the silvan of their own roots and both had to explain a lot about their heritage and belief. Qu’ghan and Abry sat by one of the tables enjoying some wine, both were enjoying themselves. They were fond of partying and liked to relax and they also liked to see if they could shock others. Some elves were dancing and Qu’ghan grinned at Abry, it was a grin filled with challenges. “ So, who would you go for?” 

Abry frowned. “ I beg your pardon?” 

Qu’ghan smiled, a very wry smile. “ Oh you know what I mean, who would you like to fuck? The father or the son?” 

Abry sniggered. “ Do I have to choose? They are both gorgeous.” 

Qu’ghan nodded slowly, his gaze slid through the crowd with a lazy expression, he reminded Abry of a resting cougar. “ Yes, but I must say I favor the father, more power, more majesty” 

Abry snorted. “ And a heck of a lot harder to impress I am sure.” 

The blue haired elf licked his lips with a very suggestive expression upon his face. “ Well then, a challenge. You know I love those.” 

Abry rested her chin in her hand, her smile a wicked one. “ A bet?” 

Qu’ghan leaned forward, his eyes glittering. “ Why not?” 

Abry fished a coin out of her pocket. “ Heads or tails?” 

Qu’ghan looked like some hungry predator. “ Heads, his majesty. Tails, the prince.” 

Abry giggled. “Well, the loser will have to go for second best but I don’t think that matters much in this case, they both look stunning. Do you think we can manage to distract them at all?” 

Qu’ghan looked shocked. “ Of course we’ll distract them, do you think I have lost my touch?” 

Abry shook her head, downed what was left of her wine and flipped the coin in the air, they both stared at it as it landed on the table. Abry raised an eyebrow in shock. “ Now, that was unexpected? How do we solve that one?`” 

The coin stood up and spun, Qu’ghan grinned and shook his head. “Then we’ll both go for his majesty, do you think he can resist our united charm?” 

Abry sent him a wicked glance. “ You have the charm of a battering ram mellon, those you so called charm are usually left in utter confusion feeling as if they have been run over by a pack of trolls.” 

Qu’ghan shook his head and grasped her hand. “ Nonsense, I have a very good reputation and you know it.” 

Abry got up and made sure that her skirts were hanging right, if they were to dance the socks of everybody she would at least start off looking decent. “You have a reputation for having fucked almost half of the city Qu’ghan, I wouldn’t call that a good reputation.” 

He swung her out into the dancefloor, blinking at her. “ Oh listen to the nun, what were you doing with those five ellyn I caught you with in that bathhouse back in the city by the way, teaching them mouth to mouth resuscitation?” 

Abry grunted and flashed a sparkling smile to the other dancers. “ As a matter of fact I was, to begin with, it just got a little out of hand” 

Qu’ghan sniggered and found that the rhythm of the music suited him perfectly.” Out of hand? There were no empty hands to be seen, I can assure you of that!”

Abry put out her tongue for a few seconds and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, they were just jesting and both knew it. He continued. “ And as a matter of fact, none have complained about me, so far.” 

Abry let him lead her and she made sure she moved in a way that was both sensual and elegant. “Well. Then let us make sure that his gorgeous majesty over there won’t be the first.” 

 

Morghian had listened to what the prince told them and she had in fact found it interesting and so she hadn’t gotten bored. It was rather apparent that this world had had its problems as well, and that they were grand. The young elf had told them of the great enemy and his servant who had posed a threat to everybody and he had told them of the battles fought and the sacrifices made to survive the onslaught of dark powers. Morghian made a grimace, no wonder the forest was sick, and no wonder at all that these elves were so nervous and filled with fear. If the remnants of those dark forces still lurked in that old fortress she wished she never had to lay eyes upon it. She had no idea of what that monster that had awakened was was but she just hoped that they were able to help. 

Kheran had started talking to some of the warriors, it was obvious that they recognized a person with the same lifestyle as themselves and tried to figure out more about him and he was telling them of his life, rather gladly. She saw that Abry and Qu’ghan were dancing, they were putting the other couples on the floor to shame and she had to grin. She knew those two well, their minds were set on seduction, no doubt about it. Apparently they only had eyes for each other but to anyone who paid attention their target was rather obvious. They were dancing for the king, and for him alone.  
Morghian chuckled and shook her head, those two. They had no restraints, no sense of propriety and no shame whatsoever. And they loved it! Morghian had always admired Abry’s devil may care attitude, she was so free, so uninhibited and Qu’ghan even more so. He was in some ways like Kheran but they were opposites too. Kheran was like a sleeping volcano, peaceful until it suddenly erupted into violence and death and then nobody was safe. Qu’ghan was not sleeping in any way, he was always showing his true colors and there was a surprising naivety about him that was rather strange, considering his past livelihood and history. But Kheran was the most dangerous of the two, no doubt about it. There was darkness also in Qu’ghan but it was shallow, not threatening. Kheran on the other hand was the very night itself and she had witnessed that force first hand and would never forget it. 

She took a sip of wine and watched how the blue haired elf seemingly flirted with Abry when it in reality was the beautiful and yet so cold blonde at the head of the table he was targeting. She wondered if he would be in any luck, Qu’ghan and Abry could really be charming and very taunting too and they knew how to play with the desires of others like a maestro handles his instrument. She did notice that the king was watching them rather often now, and she had to smile. It was working, by the dragon’s tail, they were really catching his attention. She was sure they would have quite a tale to tell come the morrow. 

Yliahr was sitting on her own but she didn’t look lonely, her red eyes were eagerly watching everything and she was humming along with the music and her fingers was tapping the rhythm on the edge of the table. She had eaten well, she almost never ate anything except meat and she had gotten her fill and was very content. The elves were a little nervous around her but she was used to that and didn’t feel that it was in any way insulting or bad. Wougar and R’enith was talking to the king now and she too noticed how his eyes was getting drawn towards Qu’ghan and Abry more and more often, they were dancing like wild flames and there was such life and energy in their moves. No wonder he found them tantalizing, you had to be made from ice not to respond in some way or the other when seeing those two dance. 

Morghian was pulled out into the dance floor by Kheran who had a grin like a wolf and she knew what he was planning on doing. She would not get much sleep that night, that was for darn sure. He still felt that battle fever and she was well aware of its effects on him. Well, at least sleep would be replaced by something equally satisfying, although a bit more vigorous. 

 

While the elves of Mirkwood did party on the moon slowly rose above the hills, the lands to the far north was almost uninhabited and very few ever bothered to visit the wilderness but there were settlements there. Some scattered small human villages and also a few dwarf cities dug into the very bones of the earth. One of those were among the oldest settlements of the Naugrim, it was small and lacked the immensity and glory of the greater realms like Moria or Erebor but it had history and lots of it. Only the Naugrim themselves knew of that place for it was a well-kept secret, a sacred place of sorts. Some believed that this was the place where Aüle first had started creating their people and so it was held in high regard by all the clans. Nobody knew if it was true but the belief was enough for it to be kept hidden.

Not many lived there though, just a small clan of dwarves living almost like a sort of monks and they were all of different clans originally but they had left their names and kin behind to serve their creator. They were master smiths and regarded themselves as blessed, as privileged by the god they served. The Silver beards as they were known as were all rather old, they were not easily persuaded to change anything about their everyday routines and they spent their time making things, praying and sleeping, and of course eating. Dwarves love food and so the kitchen was the most important room of the entire city beside the forges of course. And it was the kitchen that became the first place where the new danger was discovered. 

Not all of the inhabitants of the city were old, there were a few servants who were in their prime and then there were also a few young dwarves serving the masters as personal assistants. The master of the kitchen was strict, very much so. He was extremely demanding and every morning before the sun got up he wanted to be served a huge jug of ale, four half boiled eggs and some bread and cheese. The young dwarf responsible for his breakfast had to get up really early in the morning and go to the henhouse to pick eggs and this morning the poor soul once more got out of his warm bed, put on some clothes and staggered along the corridors on unsteady feet to pick those darn eggs. 

He had never understood why master Dhagin always wanted eggs, they were disgusting the way he saw it but perhaps there was something true about the effects everybody said eating lots of eggs had on your health for master Dhagin was very old and yet strong as a warrior and very vigorous. Falag was just a servant but he knew that he could increase his rank if he worked hard so he endured and didn’t complain even though he failed to remember the last time he had enjoyed a whole night’s sleep. 

He tumbled into the henhouse and frowned, the hens were not sitting on their perches as they used to, they were gathered in a huge mass of feathers and frightened eyes in a corner of the room. There were no eggs in the nests and they were silent. It was a very eerie silence, hens would normally cluck or chirp and come to him to get their feed, now they just stood there. Like one massive clump of birds not moving, barely breathing. 

Falag felt a chill run down his spine, something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. His mother had always told him to look out for the animals, to heed their warnings. If they run away, follow. It was a wise piece of advice and he just knew that the hens knew something he didn’t. He took a step forward, to see if he got a reaction and the huge heap of hens just exploded. Suddenly he was surrounded by a desperate heap of birds, hacking at him, running over him, wings were slapping against his skin, feathers flying and panicked screams filled the air. Falag lost his balance and fell backwards into their water through and water splashed everywhere. The door hadn’t been properly shut behind him and the hens escaped. 

Falag got back onto his feet, spluttering and cursing, covered with feathers and hen droppings and water and he growled as he ran after the birds that seemed as if they had lost their minds completely. They were heading towards a balcony and Falag slowed down, unable to believe his own eyes. Hens are terrible flyers, they usually only fly short distances but these were throwing themselves off the ledge like lemmings of a cliff. The young dwarf walked out onto the balcony, the hens were disappearing into the darkness like white balls of cotton and he blinked and tried to make sense of it all. Most of them probably got killed, it was a long way down to the bottom of the cliff and they had lost most of their feathers in the mad escape. What could make the hens so desperate they committed suicide?! 

He lifted his gaze and then he saw, he just froze and stared and felt how his face lost all color, how his future all crumbled into nothing in front of him. “Mahal have mercy!”

He barely managed to whisper the words before he fell to his knees, knowing too well that they were doomed, that they stood no chance. Not even if their creator himself bothered to come to their rescue would they survive, what he saw was impossible, unthinkable. And yet so terribly terribly real. 

The ancient city of Dvergadolg didn’t see another morning, all that was left when the sun did rise was a ruin, the mountain still stood there seemingly unharmed but there was nothing left alive, not even the ants in the storage rooms had survived and a sour stench of death was rapidly spreading through the corridors and rooms. Everywhere dead dwarves lay where they had fallen or already had lain. All greyish in color with blackened tongues and eyes and dark liquid was oozing from their bodies and spreading a stench so awful not even scavengers would dare to go near the place for some time. The torsos were gaunt looking but no wounds could be seen, and even dwarves who had been what may be described as well fed had that emaciated look.  
A raven landed carefully on an open window, the bird was a messenger and it was very intelligent as all members of its species. It knew that something was wrong. Gently the huge black bird hopped in through the window and just a few minutes later it emerged again, cawing out in terror and it flew as fast as it could southwards, this was something the other realms needed to know about. This was something terrible. It caught a good wind and before long it was keeping a steady course towards the next big city. The lonely mountain roomed many a wise dwarf, maybe they would know what to do. 

 

Morghian was right, when Kheran was tired of dancing he more or less pulled her along to their rooms and when they finally fell asleep both were just as sweaty as they had been when they arrived and smelled just as bad if not worse. Kheran had collapsed on top of her and she gently pushed him off and heard him grunt before he dozed off, she just pulled the covers over them before she too was off to dream land. 

In the great hall most of the guests had left by now, just a few sat there talking or rambling in drunken stupor and the prince had retired but the king couldn’t do that, he had to be the last one to leave. He had shared a very interesting conversation with the two tha’lar elves but he kept getting very distracted by the two dancers. He had never seen anyone move that way, with such sensual grace and they looked as if they were glued to each other. Wougar and R’enith had bid him a good night and left and he saw that the last elves remaining there were just commoners and he could get up and leave but he felt that he couldn’t. He couldn’t go without having watched what those two were going to do next.

He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he felt hot, terribly so. There was something about the way that woman was following the lead of the blue haired ellon, would she bow that eagerly to his will too, be as malleable as putty in the hands of a ceramics master? And that gorgeous ellon, such a divine mix of strength and elegance, he had to be a lot stronger than he looked, he was lean but there was a warrior’s body underneath the clothing. Would he yield? Would he moan when touched? 

He shouldn’t have such thoughts, but he couldn’t help it. Those two were creating an inferno inside of him and he already knew that they did it on purpose. There was no hiding it and he was glad he wore the long lose robes of court for he was painfully aroused and he didn’t know what to do. The sensible thing to do would be to bid them a good night and then go to his rooms and ease himself, by the Valar how he needed that now! But what if…? What if they were willing to…? He didn’t dare to hope, they were strangers, why would they want to bed him? He knew how his good looks affected people but he intimidated others too, he was after all a king and some thought that kings didn’t have needs like others. That he was some sort of almost godlike creature too pure to have urges like other males. But they were wrong, right now he was burning and he couldn’t break the rules of hospitality and order someone who was a visitor to his bed. That wouldn’t look good at all, it would be disastrous as a matter of fact. 

Such propositions had to come from the other person and freely and he tried to hide his discomfort but anyone who knew him would say that he did squirm in his chair as much as he possibly could without being too obvious. Then the two broke apart, skin flushed and eyes shining, excitement and arousal like a cloud around them and he felt his heart sink within his chest. Don’t leave, his inner voice was pleading and yet he knew that they should leave before he did something stupid. He hadn’t indulged himself for years, and now he was paying the price. Ignoring your own needs is never wise and he had for a long time, now his body was rebelling against his will and he was helpless to rein it in. 

Abry curtsied in front of the king, a very polite move but she bowed a little too low so he could see deep into her very generous décolletage. The sight made him moan ever so slightly, no elleth had breasts like that, like golden tempting oh so tempting half globes much larger than the average small handful he was used to. She cocked her head, looked up at him with a smile that let him spot a pink tongue. It was a naughty smile, a smile that told him that she knew, and that she was willing. “ My lord, I hope you have enjoyed the dance? If you like we would very much like to dance for you again, perhaps in private? I see the servants have started cleaning the place already…?” 

There was a huskiness in her voice and he saw that Qu’ghans eyes were burning too, he swallowed hard and could barely recognize his own voice as he got up from the chair. “ That would be an honor, please, follow me.” 

 

Morghian was awakened by Kheran who was pulling gently at her long hair, he was grinning and looked enviably well rested. She felt like she had gone through a grinder though and knew she would have a most impressive collection of new bruises to show off rather soon. But she had never minded it being a bit rough, she could handle that. What she couldn’t stand though was being treated as if she was some tender fragile thing, hardly more than a child. Her first lover had sometimes treated her thus, like something that could break under pressure. Kheran would never do that, he saw her as his equal.  
To his people gender didn’t matter, females were as fierce fighters as the males and when she had realized that she was no human, that she in fact never had been human it felt like doors had opened and showed her a new freedom for which she had secretly hungered her entire life. Female officers were rather common in the dragon city but there was a sort of lid put on top of them, none rose above a certain level career wise. She had been an officer of the second grade, she could perhaps have managed to rise to the fourth grade but probably never higher than that. No female had ever managed to get beyond the fifth grade and gained the title of commander or general. 

Kheran smacked her across her ass and she mumbled, she had a head ache and felt sticky all over, she needed a bath, desperately. Kheran had shocked her the first times they had made love, first of all he was capable of coming several times and he didn’t even need a break between the rounds. Second of all she had found his size intimidating and also the fact that he had an appetite she never had imagined possible. He never got tired of it, he was ready if she was and she had believed that her friends who had bragged about their elven lovers had been exaggerating a lot. The truth was that they probably had been doing the opposite. 

But she regarded herself as blessed, she was lucky to have him and the fact that they were soulbound was such a wonderful knowledge. Nothing could sever the bond between them, ever. It was a safety in that, a reassurance. They were like fire and flint and together they created quite a lot of sparks. 

She got out of the bed and walked towards the bathroom, she wondered if her friends had enjoyed themselves the way she had? Wougar and R’enith had probably slept but she would eat her coat if Abry and Qu’ghan slept alone. The water was like a blessing against her skin and she got some soap and washed her skin with vigor. There was a splash and she gasped and sputtered water, Kheran had dived right into the small pool and now she stared straight into the flint grey eyes and they were filled with flickering flames. “ Allow me my sweetest.” 

He took the washcloth and started rubbing her down like he would groom his horse and Morghian had to gasp. He wasn’t planning on leaving the bath for a while, that was rather obvious when he pressed his groin against her bottom. Well, at least they would get rid of the smell in the end. 

 

The raven had flown the entire night, its strong wings had brought it towards the lonely mountain and now it was within sight of the dwarf city. It had been rebuilt and now it was regaining its former glory and wealth. Much of the gold and treasure had been used to fix the damages and to help the people of Dale and Esgaroth, it had been all too obvious that dragon sickness had corrupted each and every coin and so they had preferred to spend as much of it as possible to dilute the disease. 

The raven landed on a perch and cawed, a dwarf came walking, the cities used ravens to deliver messages and although they didn’t expect any correspondence at the moment it had to be checked out. It could be an emergency of some sort and the guard bowed before the raven. “ Tell me oh messenger of Mahal, what news do you bring?” 

The raven spoke, its harsh voice giving the sinister message a whole new dimension and the guard turned pale and swung around, ran as if his pants were on fire. 

 

Thranduil woke up slowly, usually he would be awake in a flash but not this morning, he shook his head and blinked, he felt the warmth of two bodies next to him, one on each side and he had to grin, a somewhat embarrassed but also satisfied grin. Eru what a night! He did feel well though, better than well as a matter of fact. He felt wonderful! He was revitalized and felt young again, there was new life surging through his veins. He had forgotten how good it felt to just let go and enjoy himself and these two had in some way set him free. They were so uninhibited and treated him with all due respect and yet naturally. There was nothing artificial or stiff about their approach and he appreciated that honesty. Most people acted as if they had something lodged up their rears when he was near and he knew that they hardly ever told him the whole truth, most things were sugar coated until it became rather disgusting. 

It was so wonderful to be treated like an ellon again, not a king. And these two had most certainly made him forget all his worries, he couldn’t remember having had so much pleasure in a very long time. They knew what they were doing, by Eru. It felt as though they had been able to read his mind although that was impossible, he knew how to guard his thoughts, but they had somehow knows how he wanted it, what he needed, how he preferred that things were done.  
He let his eyes wander along Abry’s sleek body, she had kicked the covers off and the sight of her exposed rear made him lick his lips and consider an encore. She had been amazing and Qu’ghan too. 

He relaxed and closed his eyes in bliss, he didn’t want to get up, he wanted to stay there with these two and just enjoy the intimacy and warmth and the trust, such a rare and precious treasure that was. But he had to get up, he was hungry, he was smelly and if his butler suddenly rushed in now he would get the shock of his lifetime and probably suffer the elven equivalent of a heart attack. He had to grin, a rather wry one. Or perhaps Galion would feel like joining them? You could never now with that one, he was somewhat of an enigma, even for those who knew him.  
Abry stirred and yawned and stretched like a great cat and she let out a small mewling sound that sounded very sensual and satisfied. A huge cat indeed, a huge cat with a whole bowl of cream all to itself. 

Qu’ghan yawned too and shook his head, the long silky blue hair had been amazing to touch and it was beyond beautiful. The tall ellon had told the king that such strange colors were common in his tribe, he had even seen a young ellon with pink hair once but that one had developed a habit of dying it brown, rather fast. There had been a lot of laughter last night, he remembered that, they had had fun and he didn’t remember the last time he had just laughed freely without having to consider who was listening and who might interpret it in a bad way.  
Abry sat up and the kings eyes caressed her breasts, he had been very fond of those last night, she had hardly ever encountered any male so fascinated by them and he had loved to touch lick and suck them, no wonder, the ellith she had seen had been rather flat chested. “Any chance of a breakfast, I am starving!”  
Qu’ghan rolled over onto his back, the pale white skin was almost luminescent in the shaded room and he saw that the king threw a rather hungry glance at him. Well, that was promising, if they were to stay there for any length of time then perhaps they could enjoy some more time spent together. “There will be food served in the hall by now I am sure. “  
Abry got out of the bed, she moved with such elegance and he had to cock his head and admire her rear once more. “ Then lets bathe and get some food, are you guys coming?”  
She winked at them and Qu’ghan just grinned and slid out of the bed, the sheets were sticky and there was no doubt about the nature of the activities that had taken place there the last night. Thranduil was blushing slightly, he ripped the soiled sheets off and threw them into a corner. He would have to pay the ones doing the laundry a little extra, just to keep their mouths shut.  
Then he joined the two others in his private bath, he too was hungry and it was unusual, he normally had little or no appetite. They had indeed somehow reawakened him and it was something of which he was very grateful. He felt as though he was ready to take anything on, to conquer the most vile of enemies. He had a suspicion that he would need this renewed energy, rather soon. 

Legolas was a bit confused later that morning, he had met his father at the breakfast table and he had been smiling. There had been a new light in his eyes and he looked centuries younger, what in the name of heck had happened? Then he remembered the two dancers and the way they had looked at his father and he understood and had to fight the urge to blush violently. So that had been what his usually so strict and controlled ada had spent the night doing, no wonder he looked so happy. It had to have been ages since he allowed himself to get some. But good for him, and thus good for them all, it was obvious that the king’s mood was very improved and many looked as if they didn’t quite believe that they in fact saw a smile on his face instead of the normal sneer or scowl. 

That day became rather silent, the healers were busy healing hang overs and other alcohol related problems and quite a few did wake up somewhere they shouldn’t have been. Yliahr had slept on top of a granite tree in one of the huge hallways and she had no idea of how she had gotten up there. Morghian and Kheran emerged from their rooms rather late and Abry giggled when she noticed Morghian’s rather peculiar gate and some hickeys on her neck. She pointed at them. “Interesting place to have such a mark my friend, were you playing horse and mare?” 

Morghian blushed and tossed back a jug of water almost desperately. “ The whole zoo Abry, the whole zoo. Now, I want to check on Bloodjaw and Arazz.” 

 

Abry nodded. “Allow me to accompany you. I need some fresh air.”  
The two walked towards the great doors and the air outside was fresh indeed, it was a chill in it and Abry pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders and sighed. “ I wonder if we will be able to make any difference at all.” 

Morghian made a grimace. “ I have made the exact same thought Abry, time will show. “ 

She went over the bridge and whistled and before long Bloodjaw came jogging casually, the huge feline rubbed itself against her and she scratched it behind its ear. “ I am glad to see that you are okay, found any food?” 

The cat let out a low growl and she grinned. “ Of course you have.” 

There was a cry from above and Arazz came dropping down through the canopy, Morghian looked a bit nervous. It was not like him to land like that, so carelessly. He would be more careful so that he didn’t injure his wings. Arazz was folding his wings inn, walked towards them and he was whimpering, there was something very strange about the way he was staring at them, almost as if he was pleading with them. Morghian touched the dragons neck, she felt his heart beating fast, a deep rumble and he felt too hot. He felt as though he was preparing for battle and Morghian felt nervous. “ What is the matter boy?” 

Arazz wheezed and dug his back feet into the soil, lifted his head and howled, a strangled and very eerie sound she had hardly ever heard from a dragon before. R’enith came out of the doors and she walked across the bridge, she looked pale. The king followed her and he frowned and stared at the trees, he looked puzzled and worried in equal amounts. He stared at Arazz and stopped at a distance. Morghian sent him a quick glance. “ It is alright your majesty. He is not dangerous.” 

Thranduil gathered his courage and stepped forth, he had encountered dragons before with disastrous results and it did take quite a lot of strength of will to overcome his initial reaction, which was to flee. But this animal was nothing like the fire drakes of the north and he even dared to touch Arazz. The dragon rumbled and shook its head. “ Is he unwell?” 

Thranduil was good at reading animals, something was bothering this dragon and he did in fact pity it. He felt that it wanted to tell them something but he was unable to speak, it had to be frustrating.  
Morghian tried to link her mind up to the dragon’s, she sensed fear, something approaching, a danger. She swallowed. “ He has sensed something, something dark and terrible. He is scared.” 

Thranduil took a deep breath. “ The monster!”

Morghian nodded slowly. “ Most likely yes.”

The king sighed and pulled at his braid, his eyes distant. “ Our scouts will not return for days, we’ll have to wait.” 

Morghian shook her head. “ No, we don’t. I can ride him, and we can fly up north and see for ourselves” 

Thranduil held his breath. “ Are you willing to do that? Will he carry you in spite of such danger?” 

Morghian nodded. “ Arazz is brave, there is nothing he isn’t willing to do for me. He won’t hesitate. But it is too late today, the sun is already passed beyond its midday height, tomorrow. I will leave tomorrow.” 

Thranduil bowed his head. “ Then be it, but be careful.” 

Morghian made a grimace. “ That is a promise I cannot promise that I’ll be able to keep. I have a reputation for being reckless.” 

The king had to grin for a second. “ No doubt about that, I see the fire in you young one, it is rather untamed.” 

Morghian petted Arazz again. “Absolutely, I will rest and prepare. Worry not, soon we’ll know what we are up against” 

Morghian returned to the palace and Arazz took off and flew south to get something to eat, the king stared at the dragon and felt a bit in awe. A tame dragon, one which gladly obeyed its masters call. If they had owned beasts like that in ages past much would have been different. Perhaps it was for the best that they hadn’t.  
R’enith stood by the king and she touched the bark of one of the huge beeches with reverence. “The forest fears as much as Arazz did, it senses that something is wrong.” 

Thranduil smiled swiftly. “ You are of the forest mellon, like the Silvan and Avari. I bet they too sense its unease.” 

R’enith nodded. “ Yes, I am of the forest, my people were of the first, of the original tribes. But time corrupted some of them, made them haughty and proud and rather racist too towards the other tribes.” 

Thranduil made a grimace. “ Sounds a bit like the Noldor of our world, blessed with pride and skills yes but unable to see that they too were a part of the great song. They were enslaving other tribes for a while, treating them as inferior since they hadn’t been to Valinor and witnessed the light of the two trees.” 

R’enith smiled and her eyes were distant. “ As could have been said for my tribe too, they sought light and purity and were so pious and devoted to our gods they failed to see that their beliefs had turned against them and became chains that were binding their souls and a disease festering within their minds.” 

Thranduil sighed, his gaze distant. “ Too much innocence is never a good thing, I know what it did to the Laiquendi that entered these coasts from Valinor. If you are unaware of the true nature of evil you are unable to detect it and thus also unable to fight it off whence it infests your own mind. Too many fell because of their ignorance and false belief in own righteousness.” 

R’enith caressed the bark, her long elegant hands seemed to almost glide through the substance, as if she was more spirit than flesh. “ Those who had stayed were hardened, they were stronger than their cousins from across the sea right?” 

Thranduil nodded slowly, she was very wise. “ Yes, they were suspicious and wary and knew the land. And yet many were treated like dirt by the Noldorin lords who believed that they had some right to rule due to their past.” 

R’enith cocked her head. “ And now?” 

Thranduil made a grimace. “ Most of the Noldor has left, returned to Valinor, as we all must sooner or later, or fade away. But the land is more peaceful now, although the age of mankind has arrived.” 

R’enith sighed and hid her gaze from the king. “ Peaceful for now my lord, but not forever, mankind will not treat this land kindly, I can feel it. This earth will suffer.” 

Thranduil bit his lower lip, his eyes sad. “ Are you sure?” 

R’enith nodded. “ When the time comes do sail my lord, do not linger here. It will become the undoing of your very soul if you are to witness what is to come, remember this land as it was, and keep that memory until the end of all time.” 

The king stared at her, she had the gift of foresight like Galadriel, but probably a lot stronger than the lady of light. “ I will.” 

R’enith just turned and walked towards the palace again. “ Good!”

Thranduil stared after her, he opened his mind to the forest and hidden within its song he could sense a distant lament, a tone of deep sorrow and also of acceptance and grief. It would come, there was no stopping it and he sighed and rested his hand against the very spot where hers had lain. The tree was healthy and vigorous, it had many good years ahead of it, all was not lost, not yet. 

 

That evening a rider left Erebor, the young dwarf carried a message to the king of the forest and he wasn’t that happy about the mission but there was no way they could hope to face this alone. If it came to it they would have to work together and the dwarfs hoped that the elves this time would come to their aid. Times had changed, old grudges were buried, but if the raven was right this enemy was probably beyond them all. He rode a rather tall pony and looked a bit ridiculous on top of the tall animal but it was faster than the usual stubby legged dwarf ponies and right now speed was needed. He pushed the animal without mercy, they had to get there fast, they just had to. 

 

The scouts Thranduil had sent out were stopped by a flooded river, only one of the groups had managed to get across before it got too bad and they were moving forth with determination but also a sense of foreboding. They sensed that something was wrong, it lay in the very air itself, like a stench unlike none they had ever encountered and they were very brave for they didn’t hesitate but pressed on. They crossed over a range of ragged hills when they caught the first glance of the problem. Ahead was a huge area that was rather flat and it had been covered by forest. Now most of it was dead, and the elves stared at the sight with wide eyes, filled with disbelief and confusion. “What has happened here? A forest fire?” 

The leader was hoarse and his voice cracking, he was an Avari and the sight made his insides scream in denial, this couldn’t be true. One of the others pointed at the area. “ No, it looks more as if everything has just died and rotted, rapidly.” 

The elves were gathering close to each other, pale and scared. The leader sighed. “ Whatever it is, it is just days away from our forests. What are we to do?” 

The others stared at each other, they were brave warriors but this was something they couldn’t fight. “ We must return, the king must be informed of this.” 

They turned around and suddenly they heard a strange sound, they spun around to see a herd of boar that came running out of the thicket, in wild panic. The animals were squealing in shock and the elves gasped when they saw that some of them were wounded, huge sores that looked as of pieces of the meat and hide had just fallen off, an awful stench filled the air and the elves reacted immediately. Arrows flew through the air swiftly like a diving peregrine falcon and found their targets. These animals were in agony and it was their duty to end the suffering.  
The leader walked over to one of the dead pigs, he touched the wound on the beasts belly with a twig and saw to his horror that the twig too started to dissolve, he tossed it away with a shout of disbelief and disgust. “Nuath! They are partly dissolved?!”

He turned to his men and had to force himself to remain calm. “ We return now, and fast. We make sure we rendezvous with the other groups too and tell them to come with us. There is nothing we can do.” 

The scouts stared out at the destroyed land, they eyes were filled with tears, and one pointed at the horizon. “Look, is that clouds?” 

The leader lifted a hand, stared at the distance. “ No, it is no cloud, that is the enemy, whatever it is! That is unlight mellon, like that Ungoliant used to hide herself, It is darkness unbound.” 

The other elves were shivering. “ Is the mother of spiders returned?!”

The leader swallowed hard, it would be hard to get across the swollen river but they had to, there had to be a way. They could perhaps shoot a rope across and run over on it. To a wood elf that would be easy enough. “ No, I fear that this is something even worse that the old dark one.” 

The younger elves started running, all felt the earth shiver underneath their feet, felt her disgust and terror. What was awakened was beyond terrible, it was something of which the very creation itself felt disgusted.  
Now they just had to return home, safely. It wasn’t much they could tell but getting closer was suicide, and they knew it. No elf gives up an eternal life lightly. They ran as fast as hey swift feet could carry them and they all felt the pale hand of death reaching for them, for that was what this thing was, death and darkness and unending evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter will come as soon as possible, i am currently working on a novel With a deadline(aaarrrgh) and have just a week or two left and i have other work to do and... I am busy to say the least, but there will be more Chapters, i promise, just stay patient...


	4. The thing that shouldnt be...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morghian has an encounter With the monster, there is a plan in the making and Thranduil has to do the unthinkable, he has to give away some of his beloved Jewels, oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a New Chapter, sorry it takes so long to update this story, i would spend every hour of the day writing if i could but unfortunately life gets in the way.... And the days are way too short for my liking too...

Chapter four : The thing that shouldn’t be….

 

Morghian felt a strange sort of impatience, she wanted to go north right away but she had to wait. She wandered off and entered the stables, Wougar was petting Bladesong and the animal was happily chewing away at some meat. The shaman smiled to her but his face turned more serious when he saw her expression. “ You look as though you are about to explode?”

Morghian nodded slowly. “ I am restless Wougar, I have volunteered to fly up north but I cannot do that until tomorrow. The thing we are here to chase is getting closer.” 

Wougar tilted his head. “ You are right, I can sense that something is wrong. But please try to relax. You are not doing yourself any favors like that.” 

Morghian squirmed. “ I know, I think I will go back inside and try to meditate for a while.” 

Wougar petted her shoulder. “ Good idea, I will talk to the local shamans, hear if they have sensed anything useful.” 

Yliahr had had a rather grand breakfast and now she was sitting in the sunlight, just enjoying herself. She was joined by Abry and Qu’ghan and both were grinning from ear to ear. Yliahr never meddled with their business but she understood what they had been doing and she hid a small smirk. They never changed. R’enith joined Wougar and the palace was buzzing with elves discussing the enemy which was getting closer and its nature. They knew naught, that was the problem. Kheran knew that Morghian would be rather cross if he tried to interfere with her plans but it made him worried. He couldn’t follow her and he knew that she was way too brave for comfort. But it was her choice and he had to agree with her, they had to know of the nature of the enemy before they could make any plans. 

The day proved to be a rather short one, before they really knew it the sun was setting once more and everybody was gathered for dinner. The cooks had worked like maniacs and managed to come up with a rather amazing meal and Morghian had no problems believing that these people had centuries of training and experience behind them. Everybody ate until they felt more or less stuffed and Morghian retreated to the rooms rather early. She needed a long and good night of sleep and Kheran didn’t join her before later, by then she was already sleeping. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The young dwarf was riding hard still, he had been forced to rest the horse a few times, and now he was getting closer. The forest was not safe yet but he couldn’t care about that, he was still riding hard and kept a keen eye on the track. If he lost that he would be hopelessly lost before long and he couldn’t afford to take that risk. He just prayed that the horse wouldn’t drop dead before he got there.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Thranduil had kept an eye on Abry and Qu’ghan the entire evening, he had a strange sensation of eagerness within, he wanted to enjoy their company once again and the thrill of this game of theirs made his heart beat faster and harder and he felt as though he was filled with new energy. Qu’ghan had sent him these naughty small glances the entire day and Abry had been just as teasing. The servants were cleaning the place and he was heading towards his study to get some maps when he saw the two standing in the shadows of a small alcove. They were making out with both passion and finesse and he stopped and stared. There were nobody else there and they knew he was there, staring.  
Abry turned her head around and grinned, her eyes were glowing with a reckless fire and she had a very naughty grin on her lovely face. “ Care to join us?” 

Thranduil decided that the maps could wait until the day after, after all, maps doesn’t usually disappear and he had no use for them that night anyhow. Before long they had retreated to the royal rooms and Thranduil let the worries rest until the next day. He wanted to exist within the moment this night, and the moment was good, very good. 

 

Legolas had seen the way his father was eying the two strangers and he had a hard time hiding the grin on his face, he had never seen his father acting thus but he did understand. And it was good for him, and the prince supposed that his father’s mood would get even better. He had been a bit too serious and controlled the last centuries and he had forgotten to take care of himself. 

Legolas wondered about the monster though, what could it be? It was probably not a dragon, but if it was it was most likely a wingless one like Glaurung. But he felt as though he shouldn’t worry about dragons, if Morgoth had been afraid to awaken the thing then it had to be something rather spectacular, something as terrible and destructive as Ancalagon. The prince shuddered and hoped that Morghian would manage to determine the nature of the beast the next day. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The sun was just about to rise when a dwarf rode towards the entrance to the palace on a staggering horse, the animal was covered with sweat and barely alive and as soon as the dwarf jumped out of the saddle the animal collapsed and lay there gasping. The elven guards at the gates just stared, confused and more than a little worried. Dwarves doesn’t usually ride like that. One of the officers asked the dwarf to wait in the hall inside of the gates and ran to fetch anyone in charge. It happened to be Legolas he ran into first and he told the prince of the dwarf waiting just inside of the doors, Legolas felt a bit nervous right away. It had to be something rather important to make the dwarves come to them like that. 

He told a servant to go get his father and ran to meet the dwarf. It was a rather young fellow and he was covered with dust, sweat and all sorts of debris from the forest. The dwarf was indeed a mess and he didn’t exactly look as though he had much patience either. He was almost fuming and Legolas had to grin and think about Gimli. He bent his neck for a moment to signal respect and the dwarf hawked. “ I have a message from Erebor, it is bloody important.” 

Legolas nodded solemnly. “ I am sure it is, the king is on his way.” 

The dwarf spat, he had gotten a mouthful of spiderweb not far from the palace and it was dry and tasteless. “ He’d better be, this is…bad!” 

The servant had found Thranduil, he was still in bed and alone but there was no doubt that he had had company earlier and he had in fact blushed as the servant rushed inn and told him of the messenger. He got up and put on a robe and managed to look rather majestic in spite of bed hair and a few very visible hickeys on his neck. The staff was giggling like mad as soon as he was out of hearing range. 

The dwarf was staring at the elven king, he had met Thranduil before but he had looked very different then, now he looked…normal? His hair was far from perfect and the robe a bit wrinkled and was that a hickey on his neck beneath his ear? Thranduil tilted his head and the dwarf took a deep breath. “ My lord, I am Tharem of Erebor, my lords have sent me to warn you. A monster has killed everybody in our sacred city to the north.” 

Thranduil went pale and he swallowed. “ How do you know?” 

The dwarf just stared at him as if the question was a stupid one indeed. “ A bird came with the message, it had seen it.” 

Thranduil gasped and bent over. “ Did the bird describe what it was?” 

Tharem shook his head. “ No, it was gone when it got there but everybody were dead. And the forest itself spoke of something unbelievable.” 

Thranduil sighed and closed his eyes for a second. “ Our condolences, we do know of the monster and we plan on sending someone north today to check it out.” 

The dwarf frowned. “ How? It is still far from the forests?” 

Thranduil managed to look completely calm and collected, as if this was just everyday events. “Oh, we do have a dragon rider here now, she’ll see for herself what the enemy is.” 

The dwarf couldn’t have looked more confused and shocked if the ground had opened up and revealed a herd of orcs wearing knitted sweaters dancing the cancan. Thranduil was almost grinning, almost. Legolas showed the tired dwarf to the dining hall where he received a kingly meal and then he took the dwarf to the baths where the bath master almost got a stroke seeing a dwarf in the nude. Tharem then got a room and the opportunity to sleep for a few hours, he was more than grateful for that. 

Morghian had gotten up early, taken a bath and eaten well, she felt nervous but also eager to do something important and Kheran hugged her for a long time before she went outside to call for Arazz. She had brought her sword and a bow with a quiver with good arrows but she knew that she probably would have no use for them, they were just a safety precaution. The king too came to greet her and he told her of the dwarf and the city that had been destroyed. Morghian felt determined like never before but also slightly nervous, she had to admit that. 

Arazz came flying and landed with a growl, it looked agitated and it had blood around its jaws, it had probably killed a deer or something and he hissed as she prepared the saddle and got up. Morghian squeezed Kherans hand one last time and everybody got out of the way. She was bringing some parchment and pencils and she was prepared to draw the thing, whatever it was. Arazz growled with anticipation, he knew that this meant that something was about to happen, Morghian never rode him unless she had to and the young dragon got up on his hind legs and ran down the path, picking up speed until he managed to get airborne. Morghian was light, her weight was no issue at all, a dragon could take off carrying several persons but the heavier the load the less time they could spend flying. 

The first dragons the city had owned had been unable to take off from the ground with a rider, they hadn’t been strong enough. They needed to take off from a tower or some high natural structure. This breed however were much sturdier and more adapted to being used for both transport and battle. Morghian had been so proud of the dragons they had used before the war but now she did realize that centuries of controlled breeding had weakened the animals and made them useless in war. 

 

Arazz took a couple of turns around the hill that housed the palace before Morghian set the course due north. The forest was like a dense green carpet underneath them and it hid every problem and every worry its inhabitants had. It looked beautiful this early in the morning with the sun still being low above the horizon and Morghian closed her eyes and enjoyed the scents of morning and summer. There was something very vital and fresh about this morning and she didn’t want to ruin the tranquility before she absolutely had to. Arazz was well rested and did keep quite a speed and they covered a lot of ground rather fast. A few hawks and eagles did fly beside them for a few minutes, curious about the nature of this creature. Arazz was very determined too, he was obedient but he did have a sort of very instinctive intelligence and as they got further north he started to climb, just to be on the safe side. 

 

Morghian was glad he did, Arazz wasn’t as experienced as she was but he had fought and his instincts was something she relied on. The skies were clear that day and it was freezing cold that high above the ground but she had gotten dressed well and was prepared. They had flown for the first part of the day when they started to see that something was wrong. The forest up ahead was dead and there was something in the air, something that made Arazz hiss and spit and Morghian felt a cold sinking feeling in her gut. What could have done this? She used her sharp eyesight for all that it was worth, tried to see through the mist forming at the horizon. 

Mist? It looked more like smoke and it was getting darker as they got closer. Arazz was hissing and lifted his head, signaled that he wanted to climb even further and Morghian let the dragon do just that, she felt that it would be wise. They soon got so high up Morghian saw that the earth underneath her had a curvature to it, it was hard to breathe and the air was bitterly cold but now Morghian could see and what she saw was awful. The creature was veiled in darkness, like thick veils of mist and shadows and she could just see movements inside of the fog it probably created. Morghian swore to herself, it was impossible to see anything like that, the thing was cloaked in that darkness like a black cat at night. 

She clenched her teeth together, she had only option. They had to know what this was, and she had a gift she rarely used. As a dragon she could also see into the infrared spectra of light and she took a deep breath of air and felt a strange heat spread through her skull. It actually hurt and gave her a terrible headache but there was no other choice, she had to do it. She turned her now completely dark eyes towards the ground and let out a small yelp. What in the name of the first dragons was that? It looked like some grotesque mixture of different species and if what she had learned about this Morgoth guy was true it probably was. 

Arazz shrieked and she petted it gently. “ No my friend, we are not to engage this enemy. It is beyond the two of us I fear.” 

The thing was holding a steady course and it looked as if nothing could stop it. Morghian quickly sketched it and then she turned Arazz back. “ Fly quick now, find the winds and ride them. We have got to get back home fast” 

Arazz nodded and started flying in a whole different style than before, now it wanted speed and sought out the winds that were heading in the right direction, surfed upon them and the wind was tearing at them both but Morghian had always loved this, riding a dragon. To her it was thrilling, a feeling of being more alive than ever before and she grinned widely as Arazz broke new speed records in order to return back home before it got dark.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the palace Kheran had made time pass by in the training yard. He was sparring against a couple of the best of Thranduil’s warriors and they were losing. He had been looked at with a bit of disbelief at first, and these wood elves hadn’t really believed that he was any good. Soon they thought otherwise, he won against each and every one of them, his technique was magnificent and so efficient and yet different from anything they had ever encountered. He had even fought against the prince and won and that was almost unheard of.  
Thranduil had been watching for a while, Kheran was terrifying, like a machine and he didn’t seem to feel tired at all in spite of having sparred for hours. Qu’ghan had also started sparring and he was almost as good as Kheran but only almost. He was lacking that small hint of savage rage that gave Kheran the edge in every fight. But watching these two was exhilarating and it also gave food for thought. Thranduil wouldn’t mind at all if Kheran trained some of the troops, they needed a new tactic and technique. 

Kheran bowed and signaled that he had had enough and Thranduil stepped forth, he stared at the tall ellon with admiration. He had never seen anyone fighting like that and he was in awe of Kheran’s two long slender blades. Kheran showed them to him gladly and Thranduil admired the beautiful craftsmanship. “ They were made by some very good smiths, ages ago.” 

Thranduil nodded. “ I see, we have had some incredibly talented smiths too, too bad some of them went a bit too far with their creativity.” 

Kheran grinned and tossed the long hair back, he was a very handsome ellon but Thranduil didn’t feel attracted to him, after all he was bonded to Morghian and he was a much rougher and uncouth type than Qu’ghan. “ I know what you mean, there has been examples of that in the city we come from too, heck, some of them were rather insane.” 

Thranduil was feeling nervous and restless and sort of scared too, he wanted something that could take his mind away from the situation they were in. “ Do tell, please?” 

Kheran grinned and sat down on a bench, a servant brought them some cooled wine and he emptied his chalice in one go. “ Oh, there are many a tale I could tell, let’s see, there was something that happened when I was still just a youth. Yes, that is a good tale.” 

Thranduil was waiting and Kheran told enthusiastic about a man who had made mechanical animals back ages ago. He had been very good at it, in fact so good at it that some thought he was in league with dark forces and wanted him killed for it. But it all came to an end when something went wrong with a mechanical horse he had given to the king, the thing had started to mount every object it saw and the inventor lost everything. 

Thranduil was laughing but he was chocked too, not even Fëanor had tried to make mechanical beasts and he started telling Kheran more about the first age and the battles of old. Thranduil liked and respected Kheran, he did recognize a part of his own personality in the warrior, of the part of himself he never could display now that he was the ruler of a realm. But he had a similar inner flame as the ellon, the same need to excel, being the best. Kheran told Thranduil of how he and Morghian met and when a servant came to tell them that the dwarf had awakened again both were eagerly discussing horse breeds with one of the counsellors.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morghian and Arazz had flown faster than ever before, luckily they had managed to catch the right winds and she sighed when she saw the hill with the palace appear in the distance. She had looked at a map the king had given her and if the monster didn’t change its course it would be heading for Erebor before it hit the forest. They had to stop it before it got that far but how?  
Arazz was descending now, he was calling out to warm anybody underneath the canopy of his immediate landing and Morghian was clinging to the saddle as the dragon burst through the branches and landed on the path in front of the bridge. 

Some elves could be seen scurrying away and Morghian saw that Thranduil and Kheran came running and so did Wougar and R’enith. All looked very eager and Morghian sighed and got down from the tired dragon. Arazz just lay there panting and he didn’t try to take off again. She unfastened the saddle and let him breathe and he walked over to some trees and laid down in the shade. Thranduil stared at her. “ Did you see anything at all?” 

She nodded and handed him the sketches and the king went pale. Legolas came running and he also took a peek at the sketches, he just stared at her. “ What is that?!” 

Morghian shrugged. “ Hell knows, I have never seen anything like it, it has to be some sort of absolutely awful crossbreed.” 

Thranduil growled. “ Yes, a cross indeed, no wonder Morgoth didn’t awaked that thing, it had to have scared even him to death. “ 

Kheran was frowning. “ Is it really that big?!”

Morghian sighed. “ Unfortunately yes! And it was moving rather fast too, it was heading for Erebor I think.” 

Thranduil closed his eyes for a second. “ That has to mean something, could it be like a dragon? Being attracted to gold I mean?” 

Everybody just stared at each other. “ Who knows? It probably has some dragon in it, it could be that it will go for the treasure.” 

Legolas voice was rather dry and Thranduil growled and looked furious. “ It is the same darn thing over again, that gold is indeed cursed.” 

Morghian hawked and they all stared at her. “ So, what are we to do?” 

Thranduil sighed. “ I will send the messenger back with some of my best riders, the mountain has to be evacuated. There is no other choice.” 

Legolas looked at his father with confusion. “ But the deep vaults are rather safe? The thing couldn’t possibly manage to get down into the very bowels of the mountain?” 

Thranduil took a deep breath, his face was filled with sadness. “ This thing doesn’t need to get in to kill everything inside of the city. The fog kills, it is unlight, poisonous. I know Morgoth wanted to cultivate it, use it as a weapon. Ungoliant was shrouded in it but he never managed to tame her and make her bow to his will.” 

Morghian was a bit confused but she also felt scared. “ This thing does look like a mix between a sort of a dragon and a spider with some other things added too, but there has to be something we can do?” 

Thranduil looked down. “ I will order an evacuation of this realm too, this could be it, the last chance we have to get away. The grey havens could be the only option we are left with if we cannot come up with a decent plan.” 

Morghian stared at the grotesque drawings, the thing was enormous and it was like watching a god, the very idea of bringing something like that to an end was almost too much but it had to be done and there had to be something they could do, or else the Valar wouldn’t have sent them there. If she had been able to shift to dragon form? No, it wouldn’t have mattered, even a gigantic dragon like herself would be helpless against that deadly mist.

Kheran looked closer at the drawings. “ It is eight legged and it has scales and also a stinging tail, but I doubt that it has an inner skeleton. “ 

Thranduil tilted his head. “ What makes you say that? “ 

Kheran pointed at the joints of the long legs. “ See? Those are not like our knees at all, I think this thing is a bit like an insect on the inside. “ 

Thranduil and Legolas almost head butted each other while trying to see better. “ Perhaps, and so?” 

Wougar had a peculiar grin on his handsome face. “ I see where you are going Kheran, indeed I do. It has a hard shell but it is soft on the inside.” 

The tall dark haired ellon just nodded. “ Exactly, get inside of the shell and it becomes vulnerable.” 

Thranduil frowned, he looked curious but also in doubt. “ I cannot imagine any blade being able to penetrate that thing, and how could anything get close enough to injure it? Without dying that is?” 

Qu’ghan and Abry had joined them, both were almost stepping on the spot out of sheer eagerness. Qu’ghan’s eyes were shining. “ Oh I remember, Kheran I remember. You are thinking about that time at Theirazzar right? That awful rabid beast?” 

Kheran just grinned and nodded. “ Indeed I do, we could use the same tactics here.” 

Thranduil was obviously confused. “ Ah please remember you aren’t alone here? There are others present? Hello?” 

Kheran turned to the king once more with an apologetic gesture. “ Once I and my troop were summoned to save an area from a beast, it was mad and dangerous and its hide was too thick for arrows or spears to be efficient. We did it rather simple, we dug a deep pit, then we filled it with strong spikes made from whole tree trunks and covered it over and when the beast came charging it fell right in and got impaled.” 

The elf scoffed. “ A pit huge enough for that thing? It is impossible! We have a few days at the most before it is upon us. There is not enough time” 

Kheran smiled triumphantly. “ Oh but we do have a secret weapon, and you did say that the vaults underneath Erebor are deep didn’t you?” 

Legolas looked very confused. “ A secret weapon?” 

Kheran nodded and patted Morghian on her shoulder. “ Indeed, Morghian here can control and shape rock.”

They all stared at her and she felt herself blush. “ Ah, not to put a dampener on the festive mood but hello? I have never done anything of that scale before. Collapsing a few caves yes, burying a few buildings yes but bringing down a mountain?! You have got to be kidding me! And what about the dwarves? It’s their home damn it!” 

Kheran just nodded. “ I know dear and believe me, I have thought of it. Wougar and R’enith will help you, they can share their strength with you through the bond. Yliahr will help create a diversion and it will not know what hit it before it is too late.” 

Thranduil shook his head, there was disbelief in his clear blue eyes. “ Gods, that sounds like the most insane idea ever?! How are you to get the beast to the inside of the mountain? And I doubt that the dwarves will accept this, I am rather sure they will find it highly unjust that they should sacrifice their home.” 

Kheran nodded. “ I was getting to that bit. The beast doesn’t need to get inside of the mountain, just close to it. We’ll collapse the ground sideways and make it fall into the ground underneath it. Morghian will then let the rock flow back, entomb it within the very bones of the earth. Fixing the damage should be easy afterwards.” 

Morghian rolled her eyes. “ Are you insane? The last time I used my powers like that I was in dragon form, and I almost died!”

Thranduil stared at them and Kheran explained. “ She fixed the entire city after the war, repaired every damage there was to it and made it even more beautiful than before, but it burned her out. That is the reason she cannot shape shift anymore.” 

Thranduil blinked twice, it looked a bit comical. “ That sounds unbelievable. I have never met anyone able to shape rock, tree yes, some of the wood elves can sing to the trees and make them form different shapes but rock? Rock is dead, lifeless.”

Legolas had a wry grin on his fair face. “ Don’t ever say that to a dwarf, they will be very angry indeed. To them the rocks are alive.” 

Thranduil just scoffed. “ You have spent too much time with them, that is the truth about that.” 

Morghian groaned, she felt trapped. “ Okay, let’s say just for the sake of this conversation that it is possible to collapse the ground underneath the mountain and trap the beast there, how do we get it close enough? It has to be something it wants, something we can use as a bait of some sorts. If not it will just walk by on its way towards this place. We have to stop it, make it hesitate.” 

They all just stared at each other, everybody was thinking very hard. Thranduil made a grimace. “Well, I think there are one thing that most certainly would have lured it towards the mountainsides, at least if it was made to fight in the first wars.” 

Wougar stared at him. “ Explain?” 

Thranduil bit his lower lip. “ Morgoth wanted the light of the trees of Valinor, he wanted to keep its power for himself, and thus he coveted the Silmarils desperately. If we had had one of those jewels then perhaps that would have caught the attention of the beast, it has to have at least some of its masters essence trapped within?” 

Kheran looked at the elven king through hooded eyes. “ And I bet that those things are easy to come by?” 

The sarcasm was rather great and Thranduil shuddered and shrugged. “ Ah, no! They are lost to us unfortunately, one is in the earth, one in the sea and one in the air.” 

Kheran shook his head. “ What were those jewels really? What made them so special?” 

Thranduil looked a bit confused and Legolas broke into the conversation. “ They were light, the light of the Valar, of the trees. Morgoth hated it and coveted it too. Fëanor had managed to harvest it, turn it into something solid.” 

R’enith was thinking out loud. “Solid light, blessed light I am sure? Light that would really tick a creature like that monster off?” 

Thranduil turned around, stared at her. “ Yes?” 

R’enith had closed her eyes. “ The thing wants to do its masters bidding, it wants to destroy. It is made solely for that purpose I am sure.” 

The elves nodded and Wougar continued. “ If it is presented with something that triggers its anger I am sure it will respond, it is primitive or else it would have acted more like an individual and less like a will less slave.” 

Thranduil shrugged and his face looked drawn. “ Alright, but we don’t have a silmaril to tempt it with remember?!”

R’enith made a wry grin. “ Oh don’t we now? I am sure we can make something similar enough to outsmart that thing. I bet it isn’t all that clever.” 

Thranduil hissed. “ It is lethal, that is what it is, we cannot get near it!” 

Morghian had tilted her head, her eyes were narrow and distant. “ Oh but I bet we can trick it into believing that it is seeing a silmaril. Those jewels were bright and beautiful and very unique, I think I could try to make something that is equally shiny and bright.” 

Kheran kissed her cheek. “ Are you sure you can do that?” 

Morghian nodded. “ I have got to try, that is the least I can do.” 

Thranduil stared at her, he looked as if he didn’t really believe what he heard. “ That is very good, but I have a hard time believing that you would be able to outmatch Fëanor himself.” 

Morghian shook her head. “ I cannot outmatch him, but I can make a fake silmaril, a decoy. It ought to piss the thing off shouldn’t it?” 

The elven king just sighed. “ Right, is there something you need then?” 

Morghian stared at the ground, she had a slightly embarrassed and pleading expression within her eyes. “ Ah yes, when you are mentioning it. I huge diamond would be nice, a really really large one…” 

Legolas had seen his father fight to the death over some white gems, now he went ashen grey and then red and then white again but he managed to press out a few words although they sounded very strained indeed. “ I will see…what I can …do!” 

Morghian bowed and smiled relieved. “ That would be nice thank you!”

Kheran crossed his arms over his chest, this ought to be interesting indeed, he had no doubt that Morghian would be able create something very spectacular, the question was whether or not it would be enough, and if it would convince the king of their powers. They had to start working right away and Kheran saw that the dwarf was being put up on a horse and that Thranduil sent a letter with him. They could only hope that the dwarves would agree, if not they were all screwed, simple as that.


	5. Diggin' deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trap is being made, and the dwarves of Erebor are yet again faced With a dragon, but this time a friendly one

Chapter five: Diggin’ deeper

 

There was no time to waste so Thranduil did go to the treasury to get what Morghian had wanted, R’enith and Wougar was waiting by her side and the others had gone to help the officers prepare the warriors. They would have to leave soon to get to Erebor in time and bring as many as possible to help the dwarves evacuate and prepare the trap.   
Thranduil emerged after a short time, he looked a bit reluctant but handed over a box which Morghian took with a short nod. She opened it and gasped, it contained a diamond and it was the size of her fist. R’enith whistled, clearly impressed. “Damn, if that thing doesn’t fool the monster nothing ever will!” 

Thranduil just sighed and made a sort of a grimace. “ Let’s hope so. It is the most valuable gem I have.” 

Morghian nodded to the two tha’lar elves. “Let’s go, I will need your powers here.” 

They left and went towards a small clearing in the woods where they wouldn’t be disturbed. Wougar sat down in the soft grass and they joined him, sat down in a tight circle with the gem in the middle. Morghian took a deep breath, it was all up to her now and she couldn’t afford any self-doubt. She called forth the power she had been given by the rock shapers who had lived within a mountain which had been transformed into a trap by evil powers. It was something she wasn’t born with but she had learned to harness that power rather well and she was constantly discovering new ways to use it. Wougar and R’enith started to chant, they called upon the light and energy of the forest, bid it to come forth and bless this object they were creating. A sort of globe of soft green light surrounded them and Morghian began her work. 

It was not easy, diamonds are hard and the already flawless gem had to be transformed quite a bit. From the descriptions she had been given she knew that those Silmarilli gems had owned a light of their own and it had been spectacular to behold. Wougar and R’enith gathered light, the very light of life and Morghian sort of pulled it from them through her bond and forced it into the gem, changed its structure so that it could contain it. She was sweating, breathing hard and she had to fight really hard. The diamond didn’t want to be changed, the very structure was so very rigid and strong but she was stronger. She smiled, an almost sinister grin, looked down at the now very beautiful gemstone. It had been magnificent before, now it had become even more so. They had explained the history of this place to her, or at least the important things about the Silmarilli. The spider that Morgoth creature had used to kill the trees had wanted to devour the three gems, she wondered what would have happened if it had? 

It had given her an idea and even though it cost her a lot she went for it and did one more change to the diamond, it was now both beautiful and lethal. At least it would be to a creature of darkness. She could only hope that the beast would go for the bait and be desperate enough to do what she hoped it would. It did take a lot of time though, changing a diamond into a fake silmaril wasn’t done in a flash and she sat there with it through most of the night. The sun was starting to rise again when she reached the final stages of her work and both she and the two elves were rather fatigued.

When she was finished the gem shone with a brilliance that was unbelievable and it almost hurt to look at it. She placed it in the box once more and nodded to R’enith and Wougar. Both looked tired, they had used all of their concentration and all of their strength to pull this through and she could feel their fatigue through the bond. “Let’s go, we need to get back to the others, and we need to work on the plan as we go.” 

They returned to chaos, elves were scurrying everywhere with weapons, equipment and horses and Bloodjaw sat in the middle of the bridge and looked hungry. Nobody dared to go past it and Morghian had to laugh and pet the cat. Thranduil and his son had both put on armor and were ready to leave, about three hundred elves were to follow them, the rest had to remain within the woods to evacuate the civilians if the plan failed. Morghian saw that their things had been packed and put upon horses and they were all ready to go, she sighed and Kheran walked over to her and kissed her gently. “We will return starry-eyes, don’t worry” 

She had to give him a swift hug and then she mounted her horse and tried to focus on the task ahead. Thranduil rode over to her and nodded, there was a distant look within his eyes. “ Now, remember, the dwarves are stubborn and they do not like us. There has been some hostility between our peoples for a very long time and even though it has ended there are still those who bear grudges and refuse to forget. “

Morghian felt an urge to groan. “ You think they will refuse to listen?”

Thranduil made a grimace. “ I think they will refuse to leave, listen they will, but believe what they hear? I doubt it. They asked for help, but I think they anticipate that the monster can be stopped with more conventional methods.”

Morghian shook her head. “ It cannot, believe me. No weapon can harm it. But if they get too difficult I am sure I can make them change their minds rather fast.” 

Thranduil frowned, he stared at Wougar and Bladesong and appeared to be a bit in awe of the zhahar. “ How? You have no idea how darn blockheaded Dain can be.”

Morghian grinned. “ I have had some experience with dwarves and if they are like the ones from my world I know they fear just one thing, and that is dragons. I can ask Yliahr to change and show herself. That ought to do the trick.” 

Thranduil shuddered involuntarily. “ That would cause a panic, remember, a dragon made them loose Erebor in the first place, and it kept that place for many years. The sight of a dragon will be a bit too much for many I am sure. They are tough creatures but not as tough as they sometimes think they are.” 

Morghian shrugged. “ I will consider that, but we’ll see. Let’s get to that mountain first, then we’ll see what they will do and how they will react to my plan.” 

The group rode rather fast considering the number of people but Morghian realized that these elves were very efficient warriors and they had a strong discipline. Thranduil had chosen his best people for this for sure, and Morghian did also have another trick up her sleeve. Her ability to shape rock was something the dwarves didn’t know anything about. It would shock them and if need be she would wield it as a weapon, even against them. They had to get the trap ready in time, and they had to get that creature to fall for it. 

They got far the first day but had to stop for the night and a camp was erected in just a few minutes, tents were put up for the king and his son, the officers and the guests but the soldiers slept outside. Morghian felt nervous, it had started to sink in that she had to do something which seemed almost impossible. Kheran did his best to calm her down but the doubt didn’t want to let go of her, not really.

Thranduil had gone through the plan with Legolas and went to his own tent, he was feeling scared. The thing was getting closer by the hour, resting felt wrong but he knew that they shouldn’t travel by night. When he got inside of the tent he blinked and stared. Abry and Qu’ghan were already waiting for him, with wide grins, open arms and other wise than that naught but bare skin. “You didn’t let anyone see you enter now did you?” 

It was in a way comforting knowing that he wouldn’t spend this night alone, heck, he didn’t want to spend any night alone until he returned to the safety of the palace. Qu’ghan shook his head with a naughty grin. “ Of course not, we are not amateurs you know”

He had to grin back. “ I know, quite professional I would say.”

He got out of the armor and Abry started to massage his shoulders and neck and he felt how the tension and fear left him. He just closed his eyes and relaxed and Qu’ghan sent Abry a swift glance, filled with promises. “ The only bad thing about this is that we need to keep it quiet.” 

Abry just giggled and continued rubbing the king’s neck. “ I have always enjoyed a challenge you know” 

 

They broke camp at the first light of day, everybody had eaten a little and prepared themselves and they all felt the urge to ride even harder. Morghian was impressed when the mountain came into view, it looked grand and the king entertained her and the others with tales of the battles fought there and how it had regained its former glory and power under the new king. Morghian was listening very carefully, every little detail could be something she could use later on if the dwarves refused to agree with her plan. She felt very nervous as they got closer to the dwarfish strong hold and she saw that there were humans too who could be just as badly affected. Both Dale and Esgaroth had a huge population and she decided that she was doing this also for them.   
Thranduil saw that the cities were being prepared for evacuation, the dwarves had to have shared the information with the humans then. 

They rode up towards the gates in a hurry and Morghian saw that a rather huge group of dwarves were standing outside, already waiting for them. She saw the messenger among them and was glad to see that he had returned and was safe. Some of the dwarves looked very impressive with loads of jewelry, intricate details in their armor and clothing and hair and beards it had to take hours to get into shape. Some appeared to be rather old and very sure of themselves but she did also see a few young ones present, all looked like warriors and all were armed. Morghian rode behind the king and his son and the group had sort of formed a small cluster among the elves, Wougar and R’enith sat with their hoods up over their heads and Qu’ghan had braided his hair and the braid lay within his cloak so the peculiar color wasn’t too obvious. Yliahr sat on her mule at the back of the group, she was also wearing a huge cloak and was slumped forward a bit. Kheran on the other hand hadn’t bothered putting on a cloak, he rode with his head held high and the flint grey eyes were as calm and cold as ever. He didn’t seem to be impressed by anything. Abry was staring in amazement though, the entrance to the mountain seemed to leave her in a state of awe. 

Thranduil stopped his horse and dismounted, he was towering above the dwarf who came forth to greet them. Morghian saw that the dwarf had a peculiar hairstyle, was a red head and he looked both tough and grumpy. Thranduil bowed. “ Greetings, we have come as we promised we would.” 

Dain cocked his head and nodded. “ I can see that thank you very much, I am not blind ya know. So how are ya pretty-faced elflings gonna do any good aye? The ravens tell us that thing is getting closer, and it is huge! Don’t tell me you are gonna pepper it with arrows, that will only tick it off, whatever it is.” 

Thranduil managed to keep a polite smile on his face, in spite of it all. “ We have a plan, the valar have sent us some help, strangers from a far away realm.” 

Dain took a step to the side, and peeked past Thranduil. He did notice Morghian and lifted an eyebrow in a grimace that she supposed was meant to be flirtatious. “ I see, and who is this fair lass?”

Thranduil fought the urge to roll his eyes, Dain had a reputation for being very friendly towards females, regardless of race and hoped that he didn’t get too distracted by the beauties of the group. “ That my lord is Morghian, she is…a mighty warrior and sorceress, She has seen the monster and know how to fight it” 

Dain took a second look at Morghian who felt that her face was rather stiff with embarrassment. “A sorceress ya say? She is way to fair to be a wielder of dark powers. And how could she have seen the beast, everything dies around it?” 

Morghian jumped off her mare and walked forth, Kheran immediately followed her and the huge ellon made the dwarves look a bit nervous. “ I did see it your majesty, because of my powers. “ 

She took the drawing she had made and handed it over to the dwarf who was staring at her chest more than her face. Morghian cursed the fact that the tunic she wore was a bit tight and showed that she was far from flat chested. Dain took the drawing and stared at it, his eyes went large with disbelief. “ And this thing is real? What in the name of Mahal is it?” 

Morghian shrugged. “ Heaven knows, it is a spawn of Morgoth no doubt but exactly how it was made is anyone’s guess. It is lethal, that is the only certainty.”

Thranduil interrupted the small conversation. “ Please tell me you have your people ready for evacuation? For you cannot linger here now, it is too dangerous. “

Dain got a stern look upon his face. “ Aye lad, we do have prepared. But we would have preferred to stay and fight.”

Morghian hissed. “ That is impossible, the unlight around the monster kills every living thing. Trying to fight it like you would fight say a dragon or an army is suicide.”

Dain looked a bit cheeky. “ So how do you suppose we dispose of that critter ha? Pray it away?”

Morghian shook her head and took a deep breath. “ No your majesty, we have a plan. But it does require that the mountain is empty, nobody may stay behind. And there may be some damage.” 

Dain scowled. “ Damage? What do you mean damage? We haven’t struggled like mad for years rebuilding the place just to have it ruined again? And how do we know that you won’t exploit the opportunity and sack the place hu? “ 

Thranduil sighed. “ I swear Dain, no elf will enter Erebor, not even I. Morghian will do the job and the rest of us will help with the evacuation and with baiting the beast. We will make a trap.” 

Dain started laughing. “ A trap? A TRAP?! This is no mere boar mind ya, it is humongous, gigantic. A trap? What do you intend to use then? I would very much like to see a trap huge enough for something that big”

Morghian smiled, a very sweet smile but it was a smile with a hint of fangs in it. “ We’ll use the mountain itself, there are deep caverns underneath it right? That ought to do it” 

Dain was just staring at her. “ Are you a bit mad missis? Not quite right in ya head? Trapping that thing underneath Erebor? How? You cannot get something that huge into the city in the first place and it will break free for sure.”

Morghian just grinned, her eyes were suddenly shining in a sinister way, she was getting a bit angry since this took too much time. “ No it won’t . Not after I have killed it. “ 

Dain stared at her, incredulously. “ Killed it? How do you plan to do that ? “ 

Morghian called forth her powers and the huge statue standing outside of the gate suddenly started to move, it lifted its axe and the dwarves stared with eyes like tea cups and their jaws almost reaching their chests. “ Like that your majesty!”

She let the statue put the axe down and the dwarves stared at her, as if they had seen a God in the flesh. “ I can control rock and stone and shape it as I like. I will make a shaft on the outside of the mountain and it will take the beast down into the very bowels of the mountain where I will entomb it in rock. That ought to finish the job since I plan on impaling it upon hundreds of stone spears.” 

Dain blinked, it looked ridiculous. “ You can do that?” 

His voice was hoarse and Morghian nodded. “ Yes, I can. But I need the mountain to be empty, I do not want to endanger anyone and with that many caverns and corridors and vaults I cannot be absolutely certain that nothing will collapse.”

The dwarves were still staring. R’enith and Wougar dismounted too and joined Morghian, Wougar bowed swiftly before the dwarf who looked a bit like a toddler beside the giant. “ She can do it, doubt her not. But you have got to hurry, we can sense the monster moving even as we speak.”

Dain looked at the huge ellon, he was dumbstruck. “ Why do elves have to be so ridiculously tall?”

Wougar just smiled. “ Don’t ask me, now, would you be so kind as to give the needed orders?”

Dain got a grip of himself, stared at R’eith with a peculiar expression on his face and gawked at the sight of Qu’ghans sapphire hair and then he turned to his fellow dwarves and started shouting orders. Morghian took a deep sigh of relief, the gates opened and dwarves started to leave the city. She saw lots of females and children and the men were leading ponies loaded with personal belongings. The elves immediately started helping them along. Morghian saw that the people of Dale too started to leave now, they had obviously waited for the dwarves to make the first move. Morghian saw that many of the short stocky people looked scared, they probably remembered the last time they had to flee from Erebor.

Dain returned to them, he sighed. “ And how do you intend to get that creature to come close enough to be trapped? Do you know what it is after, why it is heading this way?”

Morghian sent him a swift smile. “ It was made by Morgoth, and it has some dragon in it. We know that the dragons in this realm all suffer from a certain addiction and I suppose that that is why the thing is heading this way. It smells your gold and wants it. “ 

Dain went pale and then red and pale again, he shook his fist. “ Oh by Morgoths rotten breath, we will not let that thing defile what is ours, we will not lose that treasure again. “ 

Morghian just nodded. “ I will try to make sure that you don’t. And we have made something I am sure will distract it enough for the trap to work.” 

Dain looked curious. “ What? What could possibly ensnare something that vile?”

She pulled the box out of her jacket and opened it, the light from the gem was almost too bright to look at and the dwarf looked as if he was about to faint. “ A silmaril? How the darn heck did you…” 

Morghian stopped him. “ It is a fake silmaril, originally a diamond but I changed it. We hope it will be so pissed off by the sight it will forget to look out.” 

The dwarves surrounding them stared at the box and Morghian couldn’t fail to see the hungry look upon their faces. She sighed inwardly. “ Listen, what do you think of this, if we succeed I transform a few jewels for you, as a token of gratitude and to strengthen the bond between the realms? Just a few mind you, I guess I will be very tired when this is over.”

Dain suddenly looked as if he was ready to jump up and kiss her and Kheran took a step forth, his eyes flaring dangerously. The dwarf didn’t care though, he grasped Morghian’s hand and kissed it profusely. She resisted the urge to pull her hand back and managed to smile like some powerful and yet benign higher being. “ Oh my lady, our gratitude would be eternal” 

Thranduil had witnessed it all in silence, his men were busy and Legolas was helping getting the huge group of dwarves and men organized. Moving that many people and doing it fast is no easy task but he was giving good orders and Thranduil was rather proud of him. He was a good lad and liked a challenge every now and then. But Thranduil was not surprised that the idea of owning some jewels like that put the dwarves into a state of euphoria, after all, they were rather greedy when it came to the treasures of the earth and he knew that only a strong sense of decency had stopped Dain from reclaiming the arkenstone from Thorin’s tomb. This would be a new opportunity to him, owning something like that would certainly give him extra status and his claim to the throne would be so much stronger. Nobody would be able to doubt his right to rule if he held such treasure in his hands.

Morghian was about to seek higher ground from which to work when Arazz swept in from the north, he flew over them a few times and the dwarves all looked nervous but the dragon was so small it wasn’t really a threat and Morghian whistled. Arazz squeaked and went in for a landing, he looked a bit distraught and she sent the dwarves a comforting smile. “ He is not dangerous, he is my mount and very loyal to me.” 

She petted the dragon and he hissed and shook his head, whined. “ What is it boy?”

She carefully sought the dragons mind with her own, with the dragons she had previously ridden that would have been impossible but these new dragons had the capability to bond with their riders in a way the older breeds couldn’t. She gasped at what she saw. The beast was speeding up now, it was closer than anticipated.

Kheran saw that she was pale and looked at her, his eyes revealed his concern. “ What is it love?”

Morghian sneered. “ The thing is close, almost too close. We have to distract it, slow it down.”

Thranduil swallowed hard and Abry and Qu’ghan looked scared too, Morghian was thinking hard and thinking fast. She made a decision, waved her hand at Yliahr. “ Get over here.” 

Dain still stood there with his generals and Morghian sent the dwarf an almost apologetic grin. “Listen, I know you don’t like dragons, but Yliahr here is a shape shifter, her form is the dragon but fear not. She does not suffer of the gold sickness of the dragons of this realm, to her kind gold is useless and nothing they covet at all.”

Dain stared at the tall woman who pulled the cowl of her cloak down, he gasped at what he saw. “Impossible!”

Morghian shook her head. “ No, not impossible at all, and she is no threat to you. She will help me distract the beast. “

Yliahr just smiled, her long teeth showing and her red eyes aglow. “ Give me orders shiny one, and I will obey.”

Dain raised an eyebrow, shiny one? Thranduil threw a swift glance at him with a grimace that clearly stated that he shouldn’t ask.

Morghian took out the gem once more, everybody just stared at it and she nodded at Yliahr. “Take your true form and fly towards the beast with this, taunt it, tease it but do not get too close. If I am right it will sense the gem and it will get distracted.” 

Yliahr just nodded. “ Consider it done, I will get myself ready.” 

She walked towards the great plain in front of the city where she could shape shift without harming anyone. She found a good spot and Morghian smiled swiftly. “ Look away, the light will be harmful for your eyes. “ 

Everybody obeyed and there was indeed a very sharp flash of light and when they looked at the spot where the tall woman had stood they just gasped. In her stead a magnificent creature stood, sparkling red in tones from the soft almost pink red of fresh flowers to dark burgundy and she was huge. Thranduil was breathing fast and fighting to overcome his initial instinctive reaction which was to flee for his life. She was more than twice the size of Smaug and a real dragon with front legs and not just wings and hind legs. The body was powerful and sleek and reminded him a bit of a cat shape wise but the chest was deep and muscled and the neck long and elegant with spikes and horns. The head was elegant and at the same time brutal looking, the jaw looked much more powerful than that of Smaug, it was thicker and the teeth sharper and the head had several horns and spikes. The long tail had spikes too, and some almost blade like structures near the end. She as a weapon from her snout to her tail, the claws the length of spears and her wings covered the entire plain and more. 

Morghian walked over towards the dragon, she put the gem into a small sack of thinly woven cloth and attached a rope to it. She waited until Yliahr had lowered her head enough and then she tied the bag onto one of the horns on her snout. The light from the gem was clearly visible through the cloth and Thranduil felt that she looked like an ant compared with the humongous creature. Morghian retreated and Yliahr stood up, she was on her hind legs standing almost like a human being and the shape was almost humanoid whence upright. The front legs arms and the wide chest and shoulders like those of a strong person. She crouched down for a second, staring upwards, then she kicked off and was airborne and the ground shook violently from the force. The she dragon let out a roar and flew straight towards the enemy. She could sense it, it felt like something foul in the air, a contamination of the very weave of life. She was unafraid for she didn’t know fear, she would do her job or die. 

Morghian was running up towards the top of Raven hill, the others followed her and a few dwarves had come with maps of the mountain. They were not accurate but accurate enough and Dain had joined them to offer some advice. Morghian was glad that he had, he knew the mountain halls and the rock there and she would need some guidance if she was to make the trap work without it collapsing in on itself too early. When they reached the top she sat down staring at the mountain, she felt the rock underneath her and Wougar and R’enith sat down too and put their hands onto her. They would give her of their own powers and strength and she knew she would need it and need it sorely too. Kheran sat down too, behind her, he wrapped his arms around her to offer her both comfort and warmth and also a sense of being protected. Dain stared at them and Thranduil smiled swiftly. “ The two are shamans, and they are very powerful.” 

Abry and Qu’ghan had also gotten up there and sat some feet away, looking anxious. Dain stared at Qu’ghans peculiar hair and he looked very curious. “ Tell me lad, no offense but what has happened to your hair? “ 

Qu’ghan smiled, pulled the long braid forth. “ Nothing, weird colors are natural in my tribe. Even purple or pink!” 

Dain made a grimace. “ Pink hair? Mahal bless me, that would be quite a sight to behold.”   
Qu’ghan nodded. “ It is, blue is regarded as almost boring.” 

Thranduil stared at Dain, the dwarf was eying the beautiful blue color with a strong interest and the elf had to snigger to himself. Some dwarves did obviously have a peculiar fetish for elven hair, no wonder, it was so different from the coarse thick hair of their race. Dain swallowed and ignored Morghian who by now was falling into a trance, he was completely transfixed by the amazing color. “ Tell me, could I touch it?”

Thranduil had to turn his back to hide his smirk, tough and rough Dain Ironfoot was obviously completely taken by the sapphire look of Qu’ghans braid. The elf nodded politely. “ Of course. I don’t mind it at all.”

He held out the braid and the dwarf touched it almost reverently. He seemed to be in awe. “ So soft, and yet like the most beautiful sapphire, how wondrous. “ 

Qu’ghan was smirking, he understood quite well, many had been completely taken by his hair and if they could gain some extra goodwill then why not. He quickly undid his braid and made a thin braid from a few hairs and cut it with his belt knife. “ Here, as a memory.” 

Dain looked overwhelmed and Thranduil suspected that the thin little braid would be turned into some rather spectacularly looking jewelry. “ Oh thank you kind sir, you are too kind”

Dain tried to sound polite and classy and it made Thranduil turn his back once more, it was far away from that dwarfs normal behavior it almost made the elf lose his control and laugh out loud. Morghian was in a trance now, she felt the very rock underneath her, and the rock of the mountain. She felt the empty spaces and the deep caverns underneath and she knew that she was in a hurry and yet this had to be done properly. Wougar and R’enith was using all of their powers to strengthen Morghian and Kheran was also letting her share his energy. She was almost glowing, her eyes closed and yet she saw more than ever before. Her gaze pierced the very bones of the earth, and the huge mountain became transparent before her. She saw it all, every nook and cranny, every hall and room and she started to gather all the information and make a plan. The trap has to be placed right on the north east side of the structure and she raised her arms and let her power go to work. 

The mountain was tough, strong rocks had made it stand there for ages and even though the dwarves had shaped it they had used time, a lot of time. Morghian had hours, perhaps only a few. She focused her will upon the area she intended to shape and slowly the solid rock turned almost liquid. The dwarves gasped, a huge indentation suddenly appeared along the flank of the mountain and it was sinking, slowly. A hole was starting to form and some of the remaining dwarves had fallen onto their knees in awe. To be able to shape rock like that was to them almost incomprehensible and something that in their eyes turned Morghian into a sort of deity.   
She struggled, the amount of energy she had to use made her heart beat hard and she was light headed and felt so terribly warm but she could not stop. She forced the shaft down, angled it towards the huge empty spaces underneath the city and at the same time she shaped them into one void and sealed it off from the rest of the mountain and its caves and tunnels. She just hoped that Yliahr would be able to make the creature slow down. 

Yliahr had been flying fast, she was very eager and felt ready for anything but the sight of the cloud of darkness made even her hesitate for a few seconds. But she didn’t let it stop her, she flew upwards and set a course that allowed her to fly along the length of the beast and so low it had to sense the gem. The huge she dragon was ready for a fight and she bared her teeth in anticipation of a good challenge.

The beast was not really that smart, it was controlled by instinct and so it followed that like a slave. It felt something tugging at its senses, something alluring and tempting and it knew that it also served its masters orders by following that urge. The feeling had gotten stronger and it was trying to hurry up, it needed whatever it was that was so tempting, but it didn’t know why. When its master created this thing he had involuntary created a beast that was in many ways too primitive to be controlled. It could not be trained or disciplined the way you train or discipline a dog or a horse and it would have just a faint understanding of purpose. It was its sheer size and its deadly mist of darkness that was its main advantage. It was made to intimidate and break peoples hope, not to do any actual fighting.

Now it was heading towards its goal and it was almost drooling but then there was something odd, something disturbing it. It felt an odd sensation, it could not identify it but it was irritating and it reminded it of something, something bad. It stopped, used it senses to probe its surroundings. It was more or less blind in spite of its eyes and felt more than saw the light that was hovering up there above it. It was too bright, too strong. It was just too pure, it couldn’t stand that purity, that brightness. It hated it, it was everything its master had hated too, it had to be destroyed. The beast lifted its bizarre head and roared, the light was high above it but that shouldn’t stop the beast from getting it. 

Yliahr was a very experienced fighter, a dragon who had fought in numerous battles and she had come up against many an enemy in her life, of different types. She was anticipating anything and that saved her for suddenly she heard a roar and a thick beam of fire shot through the dark mist towards her. Yliahr hissed and rolled, got out of the way easily and her red eyes got a dangerous light in them. “ So, if that is how you want to play? Fine!” 

Yliahr let herself fall quite a distance before she suddenly spread her gigantic wings and pushed a gust of wind out in front of her, and at the same time she opened her maw and spewed flames. The fire rained down over the thick dark mist and it actually burned some of it away so the dragon for a few seconds could see her opponent. “ Well hello there ugly one, my aren’t you a sight to make eyes feel sore” 

The beast roared again, in frustration and pain for it felt the heat from the dragon’s fire and got confused. It was being challenged? It had never experienced resistance and felt confused. Its mental abilities were limited to say the least and it knew only of fight or flight and it would never flee. It shaped its deadly unlight to whips of darkness, lashing out towards the dragon and Yliahr proved to be extremely good at dodging them. For such a massive creature she was extremely agile and she had a control that was absolute. The beast hissed in frustration, the light was still there, piercing and strong and it hurt, it hurt so bad. It wanted it gone, it had to be destroyed, the beast almost heard its master’s voice commanding it to bring it down. It swung its long tail towards the dragon as well, it had a stinger at the end like that of a scorpion but it wasn’t long enough to reach Yliahr who answered with yet another shower of intense fire. She was a red dragon and the reds of her world had a peculiar form of fire. It was like napalm, it clung to everything it hit and there was nothing that could stop it from burning.

The creature shrieked as its body was covered with specks of burning liquid and it tossed itself around, desperate to get rid of the unfamiliar pain and the new and unpleasant sensation that it was. Yliahr kept her distance, very carefully. She didn’t go to close but she kept spewing flames and the beast revealed its greatest weakness. It was terrifying and lethal on the ground but it had little protection against an assault from above. And why should it? When it was created most dragons were in the service of the monsters own master and it wasn’t designed to protect itself. It shouldn’t have to. Ylaihr roared and grinned, she did do her job, she stalled the beast, Morghian would hopefully have enough time to finish the trap. 

 

The shaft was forming, it went slow but she couldn’t rush this if the trap was to work. They had only one chance now, only go. If it failed they were most likely to die from the dark mist and Morghian had a sneer on her face and her body was shivering. The walls of the shaft were slick, incredibly so. There wasn’t anything for the beast to grab onto and she formed the huge hole underneath it into a sort of bowl shape and filled with vicious looking spikes, all pointed towards the shaft. She just hoped that this would be enough. 

The elves were too busy with helping the inhabitants to even bother looking but Thranduil stood there and saw how Morghian did the impossible. He was shocked, and confused. This sort of went against everything that he had learned of the world and its powers. Not even a Vala could have done what she was doing or could they? What did that make her? A deity? He was staring at her and felt both humble and in a way almost jealous. Powers like that would have been so useful in the great wars, so much death and destruction would have been avoided if they had had people with abilities like that among them. But then, on the other hand, if the enemy had gotten his hand on someone like that the results could have been catastrophic. Perhaps it was for the best that things had been as they were. 

The trap was almost ready and Morghian gathered herself for one last effort. She pulled a thin sheet of rock over the hole, it was paper thin compared with the rock surrounding it and yet it looked solid. It looked as if there never had been any changes to the mountain at all. The trap was ready, Morghian sighed and leaned back towards Kheran, R’enith and Wougar were panting and pale and Morghian knew that she looked like a mess. The elven king and the dwarf stared at her, both nervous looking. “ Is it done?” 

Morghian nodded, there was fierce will glowing in her eyes. “ It is done, yes, now we can only wait and pray.” 

She turned her head towards the north and they could hear distant roars and a thundering sound. Yliahr had managed to slow the beast down, could it manage to get it into the trap?


	6. The power of one, the force of many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The monster is gonna be tough, but it has got some Secrets and they are lethal

Chapter six: The power of one, the force of many

 

Yliahr was sneering, she felt utterly disgusted by the monster and she wished she could destroy it utterly but she knew that it was impossible. She couldn’t get close enough to the beast and even though her flames did hurt it they could not kill it. It was made to be too tough for that to happen. She wondered what its creator really had had in mind when he made that bizarre creature, he couldn’t have been in his right mind at all. She dodged another gust of fire from below and returned the favor with a roar. The ground around the beast was scorched and black and smoldering. Her flames were incredibly hot, not even Ancalagon the black would have been able to match their intensity. 

The monster was roaring and screaming in utter anger, it felt that light and desperately wanted it gone and at the same time it did covet it, why it didn’t know. Yliahr kept taunting the thing and it almost forgot its initial target but only almost. It did move forth, as stubborn as an old mule and Yliahr could only hope that Morghian and the others were ready for it. She concentrated on staying safe and put her trust in the abilities of her companions.   
Morghian and the rest were ready, the mountain had been evacuated by now and there were nobody left inside. Some stubborn old dwarfs had to be literally hauled out of their homes but Dain managed to soothe their injured ego’s and convince everybody that it was only temporarily. Everybody would be allowed to return to their homes soon enough. The dwarves and the people of Dale were heading down the valley towards the lake now, they were in a hurry and the elves were doing their best to aid them. Thranduil stood by the group and stared towards the direction from which the monster should appear, he was shivering inside. He felt it, something so awful and unnatural it defied the very laws of nature. It felt like filth, thick and oily and sticky clinging to your very soul and he cringed and hissed. Legolas was with the group helping the people and he was glad that his son wasn’t there with him now. He was starting to fear that this could be the end, the thing he felt was just so overwhelming it made him unable to describe it. 

Morghian was tired, she felt completely drained and Kheran held her tightly in his arms. He could sense her fatigue and he was worried that she would push herself too far, She had a nasty habit of doing just that and he just prayed that the monster would fall into the trap without causing any further problems. There was a sort of dusk descending, as if the sun lost some of its strength, a dark cloud appeared ahead and they all shivered. It was unlight, not really smoke or vapor, just a complete lack of light and everything good and right.   
Morghian had put on a rather stern expression, she stared at the darkness with narrow eyes and Kheran could have sworn she was growling. Yliahr could be seen flying around the monster, she was roaring and spewing flames and the monster tried to reach her again and again. The red she dragon flew towards the mountain, she could sense where the trap was and she guided the monster towards it, slowly and with calm determination. The beast was very frustrated now, it didn’t manage to catch the light nor erase it and the need to do just that was so very strong. The people gathered at the hill caught the first glimpse of the monster, the unlight was shielding it but the flames did remove enough of it for the protectors to see some of the beast and the sight made them almost turn away. Wougar and R’enith gasped and moaned and the dwarves went pale.   
“That is just….It cannot be described!”

Dain was hoarse and he stared towards the mountain with wide eyes. Thranduil was ready to agree with him, he understood now why Morgoth hadn’t unleashed the thing during the war of wrath. It was too unpredictable. It was not a weapon, it was destruction. Morghian groaned and sought the rocks once more, let her energy flow freely through it. She could feel the terrible power of the beast and its weight too. The earth shook underneath it and she wanted to growl and roar at it, to make it be gone.   
The monster was at the base of the mountain now, it hesitated. It wanted to get rid of that darn dragon which was teasing it thus. It was primitive in many ways, it didn’t really have much of a mind but its maker had used all of his wicked creativity to make it invincible. It tapped into its own unnatural powers and slowly it changed. The unlight was a terrible weapon but it had one weakness, it wasn’t effective over a great distance and the dragon managed to stay clear of it. And it did also dodge its flames and whips rather well, it was no way it would get the dragon by using those weapons.   
The monster was indeed a shape shifter, Morgoth had probably gotten the idea from the were wolves he and his servants had used with such terrible results and now the thing just let go of the unlight. The weapons adopted from Ungoliant were discarded off and the thing roared in a mixture of confusion and pain and it slowly became something new. It hurt, and the agony only added to its determination and strength. It didn’t know defeat, it didn’t know fear. It would win for sure.   
Thranduil just stared, he had gotten even paler than normal and his mouth was open. It didn’t look very regal at all but for the moment he didn’t care at all. What was emerging from the darkness was an abomination even worse than the somewhat spider like shape the monster had had until now. It was as if a dragon and a balrog had bred an offspring and the thing was even greater than before. It got up onto its hind legs and roared and Yliahr looked like a sparrow placed next to a great eagle next to it. She saw that this monstrous dragon didn’t have wings capable of carrying it, it was too massive. But it had claws and long arms and deadly fire and more than that, it did also spew a sort of acid and Yliahr did manage to get away from the first spurt of the stuff but the next one hit her left wing and she shrieked in pain and spun around, got out of range. She couldn’t fight this beast, it would be suicide.   
Morghian gasped, she stared at the thing that stood there, enormous and glowing like a creature made with entrails of lava. She took a deep breath of air and felt how the weight of the balrog dragon made the very earth groan. “ It is too bloody big!”

Kheran stared at her. “ Are you sure?”

She nodded. “ It cannot fit down the shaft, it has got hands damn it. It will cling to anything I can grasp onto.”

Dain was shivering and Wougar and R’enith stared at her with visible fear. “ What do we do?”

Morghian stared at the monster and her mind was racing like crazy, she was shivering and sweat was running off her. She was still connected to the very earth and it drained her, rather rapidly. Then something dawned upon her. “ The caves and openings, how did they come to being?”

Thranduil and the dwarf king stared at each other and Dain shrugged. “ We think they were dug by some worms, huge creatures that dig through the earth itself. But they haven’t been seen for many years and they were ultimately controlled by the dark forces, they served the orcs.”

Morghian closed her eyes. “ They are just beasts right? Just animals?”

Thranduil nodded. “Yes, not very smart at all” 

Qu’ghan grinned from one ear to the other. “ You want to use them right?”

Morghian nodded. “ People, from now on this has become a joint effort. We have to join our talents and powers in order to conquer this monster. And we have to do it fast.”

She turned to Wougar and R’enith. “ You two, seek those worms, make them come to us, and do it fast. I will distract the monster again.”

She saw that Kheran was getting rather stiff faced and his eyes were dark. “ You cannot do it, it will kill you! You are too weak.” 

Morghian clenched her teeth together.” Not if I link my mind with all of you, if I draw strength from everybody.”

Thranduil swallowed hard, nobody had ever done something like that before and he realized how truly different these people were. She got onto her feet, her eyes were shining and she smiled, a dark smile. “ I cannot truly take my dragonshape, it is lost to me. But I can make the next best thing. I can make my own body.”

Kheran gasped and he looked as if he was about to shake her, it was obvious that the prospect scared him. “ Morghian, please, listen to reason. It will burn you out.”

Morghian shook her head. “ No, not if I can join forces with everybody here, every dwarf and elf and human, I am but one but with the force of many I can beat this thing, I know I can.”

Thranduil closed his eyes, sought the minds of every elf in the valley and bid them open their souls and allow Morghian to tap into their energy. Dain swore as only a dwarf can and sighed. “ Right, when the pointy eared ones can risk their very being then we dwarves cannot be any less brave now can we? Right lass, do it. Let us all do this together.”

Morghian nodded and sought outwards, she let her power embrace them all and for a moment Thranduil felt dizzy. He had involuntarily tapped into one of her most powerful memories, of the time when she could fly, cleave the air in her true shape and soar above the ground. It was mind boggling and terrifying and yet a feeling more heady than any brew he had ever tasted and he understood that to her this had to be a loss so devastating he could barely understand it.   
Wougar and R’enith had sunken down onto the ground, their eyes closed and their breaths uneven and shallow, they were seeking out through the rock to find the worms and their ability to bond with living creatures should be enough to bring the worms to the mountain. Both were very powerful, and their powers were of the nature itself and thus they were pure and uncorrupted, the worms would not be strong enough to resist their calling even if they still were bound by the dark powers.

Morghian could feel them, every living soul within the valley, it felt like walking through an endless meadow filled with flowers, all of different size and color and she was awe struck by the beauty. She got a hold of herself, focused. The monster was moving towards Yliahr since she still carried the gem and the red dragon couldn’t continue this fight much longer, she was wounded and tired and the beast was sort of dragging the very will out of her now, it was just too frightening and overwhelming. Morghian sat down, then she laid herself down onto the very rock itself and allowed her energy to merge with the rock once more, and now to a further degree than before. She let her soul become the rock and she knew that this was dangerous but she didn’t have much of a choice. Her soul was at risk here but she couldn’t hesitate, not anymore.

A part of the mountain side started to move, to bulge outwards and a shape became visible. Kheran gasped and the others stared at it with awe. This was Morghian as she was in her dragon shape but no dragon of flesh and blood. This was made from rock and still it was moving and the elves stood there in awe and stared at the being that was both beautiful and terrible to behold. She was just as scary as the monster of Morgoth and she was just as big as it too. She had added some details to her exterior, a sort of armor shaped from the sharp volcanic glass she had found deep beneath the mountain. It made the rock dragon look menacing and the monster saw its new opponent and hesitated. Yliahr saw Morghian’s new body too and understood her plan. Swiftly she flew towards the huge rock dragon and dropped the bag with the gem into it’s outstretched hand.

Morghian felt weird, heavy and slow but she pulled on the energy of many souls, it made her strong, immensely so but even that energy had its limits. She couldn’t go on for too long without seriously risking everybody’s health and safety. The stone dragon couldn’t make any sound, it moved silently and it made it all the more frightening. It was truly a clash of giants, too large to really seem real. The monster was confused, it had fought a small flying menace and now it was faced by another problem, much bigger and so much more like itself. It let out a roar that made the very ground shake and attacked. For a being so huge it was fast, surprisingly so. It rushed towards the stone dragon with a speed that made the spectators just gape and stare. It was so much more agile now than it had been in its initial shape and if it had owned more than just an excuse for a brain it would perhaps have felt a bit annoyed by the fact that it didn’t discover its shape shifting abilities before. 

The rock dragon was prepared, and Morghian was after all an officer. She had learned how to fight with every weapon available and if there was nothing else present she knew how to use her body as a tool. Kheran had seen her fight several times and he had always been in awe of her controlled cold rage and her precision. It didn’t fail her this time, she ducked and a massive stone fist hit the monster straight in its solar plexus. The thing staggered back and heaved for air, stunned by the fact that this dragon fought not with tooth and claw but in an entirely unanticipated fashion. Morghian didn’t allow her opponent to gather it’s senses, she followed through with a vicious kick that almost broke one of the monsters legs and the thing roared with pain and shock. It had never felt pain before and it didn’t particularly like it.   
She was way too heavy to fly, and just the idea would have been ridiculous, her wings were made from stone and too stiff for flight. Instead they were like a very heavy backpack and just in her way and she cursed the fact that she couldn’t alter her shape more than she already had. She had added the obsidian armor but that was all she could do. The monster let out a huge amount of fire but it didn’t hurt the stone dragon at all. Morghian would have laughed if she could.

The others just stood there in awe and disbelief and Kheran was kneeling by Morghian’s body, frantically praying that she would make it. He already gave her as much of his energy as he could through their mate bond and he sensed how she drew strength from everybody else there as well. The refugees had stopped moving, they all just stood there staring and many felt faint headed already, some had sat down and a few humans seemed to have passed out. They couldn’t really take as much as a dwarf or an elf when it came to energy drainage.   
Thranduil was powerful and ancient and his mind a bit different than that of others there, he saw more than they saw and he had a hard time stopping himself from getting too curious and seeing too much. He sensed that Morghian was a very unique creature and he could see a huge ring of erected stones, glowing in a most insane way and in the middle of this circle he felt a sort of presence, benign and yet terrifying. It make him back off immediately for he knew somehow that if he ventured even deeper into her memories it would damage him forever. Kheran sent him a swift glance. “ Good choice mellon, getting too close to the core of who she really is would have burned your very being to ash, nobody is strong enough to come in close contact with her mind, not even me.”

Thranduil swallowed hard. “ I saw a circle of stones, and it was beautiful and yet…” 

Kheran got a wry smile on his beautiful face. “ Oh that, yes, it is a keypoint, a passage between worlds, connecting them to the great weave of life. We had to awaken it for the forces of light so that the dark powers of our world couldn’t claim it. It would have been the end quite literally, creation itself would have been undone and everything would have seized to exist.”

The elf shuddered. “ Who would want that? Not even Morgoth himself wanted the world to become undone, he just wanted to rule everything”

Kheran smiled again, a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes, they were as flint hard as ever. “The one we feared was a dragon, of the first born race. Immensely powerful but corrupted, pretty much like your Morgoth I think. And he wanted vengeance for having been punished by his brethren so he wanted to ruin everything. A rather immature attitude but dangerous nevertheless.”

Thranduil sighed. “ I see, childish I would call that.”

Kheran just shrugged. “ Maybe, Morghian managed to kill the bastard and she rebuilt the city too, a great effort and her name will be forever remembered there.” 

Wougar and R’enith didn’t pay any attention to the conversation of the others, they were busy doing their job now and it wasn’t easy at all. The drawback of having powers as their own was that every mind, every soul became visible to them. They had to sort through thousands of minds, more or less complex to be able to find the worms and the trouble was that their minds were pretty similar to those of ordinary earthworms. 

Wougar was cursing again, he had called upon something he thought could be one of the huge earth movers but it turned out to be a wild goat with a slight braindamage from too many fights against other rams. He let the animal free and started seeking again, so far he had found a dozen or more so deer, some hawks, hundreds and hundreds of rodents and their minds were so skittish and all over the place at once it gave him a throbbing headache. R’enith wasn’t faring much better, she had tried to call upon no less than two wandering wargs, a handful of moles and believe it or not a bear and two geese. The bear had not been very pleased and she had apologized before she let go of it again. They didn’t need an angry bear in the middle of this.

Then she found something, something very primitive indeed but also very strong and even though the things she reached didn’t have any real thoughts it had plenty of feelings. She reached out to Wougar and made his aware of her findings and they sought it out together. It was indeed a worm, and when they found one they soon found yet another one. It had to be a couple, a male and a female and they were guarding a nest of eggs. R’enith smiled, a rather wicked grin. It was perfect. She implanted a thought into the beasts mind, told it that its eggs were in danger, that there was something there which wanted to devour them. The worms were all instinct and she hadn’t misread them at all. They immediately started burrowing, desperate to stop the enemy. There were few left of them now and they didn’t want to lose this clutch, each and every egg was precious beyond belief.

Morghian dodged a blow from the monsters arm, the claws hit her rock armor and sparks flew but there was no flesh nor bone which could get injured, she was all stone and she knew that the dwarves probably were going to tell tales of this until the end of time or even longer. The monster had spewed acid onto her and that did in fact damage the rock but since it wasn’t alive she didn’t feel any pain and the damage was just superficial. It didn’t really matter that much. She grasped onto a cliff and tore a huge chunk of it free, used it as a club and smashed it into the monsters shoulder with a boom that was heard for miles. The monster roared, it could in fact get injured and the club had broken several bones in its shoulder. Its creator had made one huge mistake when he designed this thing, he had believed that its sheer size would protect it, that nothing would be bigger or meaner but that was where he now was proven to be very wrong indeed. The monster was flesh and blood, it was alive and as all living creatures it has weaknesses.

Size can be intimidating but it brings with it a whole host of problems of which most never really think. The monster could shift and change its body but since the process had to happen fast it couldn’t be complete, it was lacking in many ways. Its lungs were too small and its heart not nowhere near strong enough. It was losing strength fast but it didn’t have the mental capability to understand this fact. It was pushing itself without regard for its own well-being and Morghian had fought before. She was a well-trained warrior and she also used the experiences of the souls with which she had bonded. She somehow knew that Morgoth had been a sloppy designer when he constructed many of his ancient horrors. He hadn’t thought of longevity and durability at all. His minions were expendable, to be used and discarded off and this beast was no different than the rest of his creations. He had never meant for it to be able to do much real fighting.

She saw the opponent heave for air and the rock dragon would have smiled if it could. She kicked up a huge cloud of dust earth and pulverized rock and the beast did inhale a lot of it. The result was instant, the monster staggered backwards and coughed, it was barely able to get air into its system as it was and this was a bit too much. Morghian didn’t underestimate her opponent though, she knew that the monster had a self-preservation instinct, it wanted to live and fight and serve its master and she knew that it was capable of some tricks of its own. She could somehow sense that it was far from harmless even while choking and she was right.   
Suddenly the beast sported tentacles again and they wrapped around the rock dragon with ferocious power, tossed it against the side of the mountain and the impact made the ground itself shiver. The dwarves and elves just stared and the humans down the valley moaned and knew that everybody was in peril if the monster won this fight. Morghian groaned, she could feel the impact through her bond with the rock that made up the dragonshape and it hurt her. She bared her teeth, eyes glowing and her mind filled with ferocious will. She wouldn’t let it win, never.   
The worms were on their way, Wougar and R’enith had managed to convince them of the danger lurking and they had both withdrawn their minds from the rather simple brains of these creatures. Both were drenched in sweat and shivering but they did connect with Morghian again to strengthen her. She was struggling against the beasts, the tentacles were terribly strong and sticky too and she didn’t really know how to break free from them. She didn’t have the momentum needed to snap them and Wougar realized that she was having trouble. He turned towards Thranduil and there was a silent plea in his eyes. “ I need some help, you are the one here with the greatest energy, share it with me.”

Thranduil hesitated, then he opened his mind also to the shaman, he did see that R’enith was doing all she could to help Morghian and he sort of anticipated what Wougar wanted to do. The shaman cringed but he pushed forth and found the mind of the beast, it was almost as primitive as that of the worms but it had some complexity to it still. It was furious and wasn’t going to back down that easily.   
Wougar was shocked, he had hardly ever encountered something that terrible and cold and evil, the master had most certainly managed to create something worthy of him. But the shaman was brave and he was skilled too. The contact was like a feathers touch, barely noticeable for he didn’t want to make the beast aware of his presence within its mind. He could feel that the elven king was a very experienced warrior too, and that he had faced dragons before. Now he used also Thranduil’s encounters with the fire breathers to his advantage and he realized that within this realm dragons don’t go very well together. They loathe each other and meet only to mate and Wougar grinned, a rather devilish grin. He created an illusion, a fake image of another huge dragon, rapidly approaching and ready for attack.   
The beast roared, it was getting confused. It didn’t feel another dragon there but it did see it and it turned its attention away from the rock dragon. It wasn’t capable of staying focused on more than one thing at a time. That was what Morghian had been waiting for, the tentacles went limp and she ripped herself free, the rock dragon was back onto its legs and she knew that this was it. She had to complete her task soon, before she got too drained of strength. The trap was not far away now and she moved towards it. The earth shook and the worms suddenly shot out through the ground, the huge flat heads with multiple rows of teeth swinging around, searching for their enemy.

The beast wasn’t prepared for this, not at all. The fake dragon disappeared and it roared in confusion and turned towards these two new enemies. The worms were digging through the very earth itself, and the monster of Morgoth was made from flesh and blood. Tough yes, but still nowhere near as hard as the very bones of the earth. The first worm attacked and the mouth tore a huge gash in the beast’s abdomen. The monster shrieked and struck the worm with a huge clawed hand. Everybody could hear the sound of the impact and the worm was made from tough material too but the strength of the beast was great. The claws cut through the thick hide and went deep into the body of the animal, it almost cut the front part off the body. But the worm was primitive and that also means that it was less vulnerable than more evolved and specialized beings. It managed to pull back and its mouth locked itself onto the flank of the monster, teeth sank deep into the flesh as hot blood poured from the worm’s wounds and it’s jaw locked itself as it died slowly in violent spasms. The other worm couldn’t really tell that its mate was dying, it was not able to wrap its mind around such complex concepts as that but it did sense danger and it attacked too.

The teeth were made to crush rock, it didn’t really have much problems with crushing a leg. And it did, it ripped a leg off the monster with ease and the beast roared and grasped a huge rock and crushed the worms head with it. The already dead worm hung onto it and the movement caused a huge chunk of tissue to be torn out of it, the agony confused the monster and it didn’t see that the rock dragon was close now. Too close.   
Morghian tossed the bag with the fake silmaril at the monster, and it lodged itself onto one of the horns on its grotesque head. The monster shrieked again and everybody had to cover their ears, the fire burned it, the light was too strong, it had to get away from it. Morghian felt how she was unable to maintain the dragon shape, she had reached the end of her endurance and her heart was beating irregularly and so terribly fast. She let go of the other souls with a shiver, many passed out or felt terribly sick and barely anyone was able to remain standing. Being able to control the stone dragon had required so much power it was a miracle anybody had been able to endure it.

Wougar had let go of the monster and he stood there panting and Thranduil had to sit down, he was shivering too and since he had sensed what the shaman had he now knew what the mind of the beast was like. It had been terrible. He stared at the monster, the rock dragon was now just rock, like a huge statue but Morghian had known what she was doing, she had left it unbalanced and it tilted forward, crashed into the monster and it reared back, stepped onto the top of the shaft. The cover of rock broke, the monster didn’t understand as the ground seemed to disappear underneath it and it clawed at the rock surrounding it to stay above the ground. That was what Morghian had anticipated, what she had waited for. The obsidian armor of the rock dragon was not to protect her creation, it was a trick. Suddenly the black rock became a liquid and it slid across the ground and surrounded the struggling monster in a thick layer of slick black oil-like goo. It encased the monster, brought its arms down along its flanks and the blood from its wounds and the two worms did make the shaft even more slippery than before. Gravity kicked in, more powerful than any magic. 

The monster roared, legs kicking but they were deep inside of the mountain now and the black rock had become a solid mass again, it was like a suit made just to turn the monster into a streamlined object perfectly fitting through the shaft. Morghian was panting and her eyes were glowing in a very sinister way now. She let the monster fall, and it was so heavy it fell without much resistance and deep within the mountain the huge cave awaited it. She sneered, teeth bared and body tense, her connection with the rocks were stronger than ever before even if it now was only her own energy supporting the process. 

The beast shrieked, thrashed around but the fall could not be stopped, it reached the cave and the black rock disappeared as if it never had been there. The monster tried to turn around but it was too late. It fell onto the spikes like a rock and was impaled by several dozen of them. It was unable to move, unable to do much. Morghian had planned for this, the fake silmaril was a weapon in itself, its power was unleashed and suddenly a light was unleashed so bright it burned everything within the cave, it was hotter than the sun itself, a glowing burning ball of pure energy and it burned its way through the skin and meat of the beast, heading towards its very brain.   
The beast roared in agony and rage, it was defeated, it was dying, it wouldn’t please its master at all. But it had one last trick up its sleeve, one last ingenious thing it could do. It opened a gland in its skin next to its neck and a thick fog seemed to spread through the air and up the shaft. At the same time hundreds of small creatures seemed to burst forth from its skin everywhere, they were parasites and like rats they were abandoning the sinking ship.   
The shaft was soon teeming with them and Morghian was struggling to find the strength to close it off and seal the chamber when one of the dwarves shouted. “ Look, what the heck is that?” 

She moaned, too dizzy and confused to really manage to see much, she had used all her power and wanted to rest. The ground around the shaft was being covered by something that was moving? What could that be? Wougar hissed. “ Damn it, the thing had lice, or something like it. Close the shaft Morghian, do it now!” 

The lice or whatever it was had to be the size of a bull and they were moving around rather fast too, they were probably insects and the shaman could sense them, they were irritated and hungry and the valley was filled with people. He cursed and Morghian was pale and grey and sweating. She let the rock turn into a liquid once more, entombed the monster in it before she let it go solid again and the shaft disappeared as if it never had been there. But the new danger was there and it was like watching an anthill from above, the ground was moving everywhere. Dain blinked in disbelief. “ Has got to be several hundred of the things, what are we to do?”

Thranduil was staring at the smaller but probably no less lethal beasts with wide eyes. “ We have to stop them somehow, everybody is too weak now to fight.”

Dain shook his head. “No they are not, my warriors are never too weak to fight, we are not such sassy faced wimps as yer so called warriors, we are ready.”

He ran over to the edge of the cliff and pulled out a horn, blew it a few times. “ Now my folk knows what to do.” 

Thranduil was seriously offended by the dwarf’s words but he didn’t show it, it was just the way Dain was and there was no time to waste. He quickly sought the minds of his elves, most were armed with bows and arrows and now the plain was swiftly being transformed into a defense zone. The elves gathered in a line and the dwarves made a living wall in front of the archers, wielding hammers and axes and everything else they had. Dain made a wry grin. “ I will join my men now. Good luck everybody.”

The dwarf king just ran down the hill towards the upcoming battle and Thranduil sighed. “ I feel like shit, honestly. I am shivering like a leaf and my legs feels like jelly, she drained us all completely.”

Wougar nodded. “ She had to, the effort would have killed her otherwise. We should leave though, I don’t think this is a very safe place for much longer.”

The huge mass of creatures were steadily approaching and now they could see that they did resemble a sort of long legged mite with a rather nasty head with long jaws. Kheran picked up Morghian and they ran down from the hill as fast as they could. Abry and Qu’ghan helped Thranduil and when they reached the plain they all got onto their horses, if it came to it they all had to flee once more. The beasts were indeed the size of a buffalo bull and moving rather fast and Wougar hissed. “Unnatural, they are too big. Should have been crushed by their own weight.”

R’enith nodded. “ You are right, magic sustains them. Can we disrupt it?” 

Wougar nodded. “ We can try, but still there will be a fight.” 

Kheran had gotten Morghian onto her horse, she was able to sit there on her own and he had gotten a very determined look upon his face. “ I can try to do some damage, Arazz is still in the area, he is no huge dragon but he can fight.”

Morghian moaned. “ Yliahr?”

Kheran shook his head. “ Too injured, her wing got hit. She cannot fly.” 

Morghian nodded. “ I know, but she is just as lethal on the ground. Where is she?”

Kheran frowned. “ I don’t know, I didn’t see where she landed.”

R’enith pointed towards a cliff near the entrance to Erebor.” There, behind that cliff, she is apparently just laying there waiting for them”

Morghian grinned, it was a stiff smile. “ Good, she can really cause some mayhem when she wants too, even if she isn’t capable of flying.”

Kheran looked at her with a pleading expression on his face. “ Will Arazz accept me?”

Morghian smiled, a very loving smile. “ Of course, he has carried you before hasn’t he? I will call him down, and bring a good bow dear.” 

Thranduil was shouting orders to his warriors, they all looked pale and rather shaken but they were ready. Centuries of training had prepared them for anything, even this. He was as regal as ever but they could see that he was shivering and his eyes were hazy. Legolas had joined the other archers and he too looked weak, he did not back down though and Thranduil shouted something to one of the officers. The elf immediately came with a bow and a full quiver and Kheran tested it and found it to be very good.  
He smiled and Arazz came flying and landed right in front of them. He petted the dragon on its neck and Arazz squeaked and accepted his touch. Morghian whispered something to the animal and it crouched down and let Kheran climb onto its back. He attached himself to the saddle using a special harness and then the smaller dragon took off. The monsters were getting closer by now, and they were terrifying. They didn’t appear to have eyes so they probably hunted by using heat or scent and they were crawling down the mountainsides like an army of overgrown bed mites.

The dwarves were shouting battle cries to gather courage and the elves did join inn, some humans had also found weapons and were ready to protect their families. Wougar tried to seek out the minds of these new horrors and he let out a faint cry and stumbled back, had to hold onto the side of his strange steed not to topple over. R’enith looked shocked. “What is it?”

Wougar grasped a hold of himself again. “ They want blood, they feed upon blood. And they have caught the scent of everybody down here. This is an even worse enemy than the great monster, it was just one. These are hundreds”

Morghian was terrified, she was no longer capable of doing any fighting at all, her strength utterly spent and she could do nothing more. But she wanted to, she wanted to fight and Kheran smiled at her and nodded his head. “ Remember your training starry eyes, you are a capable warrior even as a human.” 

Morghian nodded and pulled her sword. Adhriat was a rare blade capable of cutting through any know substance and she felt how her self-confidence returned with it in her hands. “ I know, I will fight.” 

Abry had shed most of her clothes and many of the males there were staring at her with wide eyes, she was a spectacular sight. She nodded to Morghian. “ I will fight by your side my lady.”

Qu’ghan had discarded his skittish colt, instead he mounted Bloodjaw. The S’haga was big enough to carry him easily and with two swords they made a formidable team. Morghian closed her eyes and knew that this was a fight she had to get through as a human, not as a dragon. It would be tough but not impossible. She sneered and let out a howl, a challenge. Dain had taken up a position at the front of the three lines of dwarves and he was grinning like crazy. “ Ah come on ye ugly bastards, let me axe caress yer ugly faces.” 

Thranduil had also gotten his swords and even though he was feeling weak he was ready to fight, they couldn’t let these new monstrosities get to the women and children. Arazz shrieked and kicked off and was in the air and Kheran knew that he could signal where they ought to put their attention. From above he had a perfect view of the battle ground, and he intended to use it. The smaller beasts were rushing ahead, they made no sound for they were probably not capable of it but the sound of hundreds of legs was deafening. They sounded like a stampeding herd of cattle and the moment they got within range the elves let loose a swarm of deadly arrows. Morghian held her breath, the beasts were insects and they had an exoskeleton and she had no idea of how thick it was. It all depended on that one factor now.

The arrows reached the approaching swarm and Thranduil groaned. Most arrows just ricocheted off the thick hide of the beasts but some did damage the target. The joints were vulnerable and so was the underside of the beasts and the flexible neck area. He roared an order and the archers started aiming for individual beasts, they shot in an almost mechanical rhythm. The beasts fell, or at least some did and Abry changed into her were form and growled. She was magnificent as a were cat and her long claws were razor sharp.   
The beasts reached the first line of dwarves and Dain roared orders and the dwarves were indeed just as tough and ferocious as Morghian had guessed that they were. The front line were battle hardened veterans and they went for the legs. That was a very wise move for whence the beasts were crippled they were easy to shoot for the elves.   
Wougar and R’enith had gotten their weapons and rode into the melè and Qu’ghan and Abry joined them, the few riders there rode forth and Morghian was among them. The huge mite like monsters were terrifying up close with snapping jaws and they did stink too. But she forgot that when the battle fever took her and above them Kheran was firing down at the beasts and shouting warnings if they seemed to break through the lines.   
Thranduil was fighting like demon, he had forgotten his fatigue and the blades were sharp enough to penetrate even the thick shielding skin of these beasts. He saw that the mites or whatever they were had managed to overpower a few dwarves and they had transformed the poor fellows to mummies by sucking the very juices out of them, and all within minutes. It made him shiver.

Arrows were flying and axes and hammers and swords did their job well, Abry were tearing the monsters apart and Qu’ghan and Bloodjaw were also rather efficient. The giant cat simply pounced and hit the mites in the head with its massive paw and that knocked them out so the blue haired elf could use his elven blade with deadly precision. They had soon discovered that the fragile point was the joint between the head and the thorax and now everybody went for it. Arazz added some fire to the mix, he could breathe flames but he was first and foremost just a mount and his best weapon was his maneuverability and speed. The dragon flew low and let its strong hind legs with claws swipe across the beasts and topple them.   
They were not very agile and their center of gravity low, since the bodies were wide and the legs shorts they couldn’t turn themselves over again if they ended up on their backs. They were like turtles.

Then Yliahr struck, she had waited until the majority of the flock had passed her by and since she was so huge she wasn’t very warm, the mites didn’t sense her. Now she ran forth, she was injured and in pain but that didn’t stop her. She didn’t need her wings to be lethal, she just ran and her massive feet crushed mites. She had a set of very powerful jaws and her long teeth sank through the exoskeletons like a knife through warm butter, the tail with spikes on it did swipe across the ground and she was indeed a most terrifying and yet beautiful sight. Every now and then she did let out a burst of flames and the heat attracted the mites which then got within her reach. Morghian was rather proud of the red she dragon, she was a formidable ally and Thranduil was in awe, they should have had a dragon like that in the previous wars, everything would have been different.   
The battle seemed to be won when a rider approached from behind, riding very hard, he was obviously very scared. “ People are getting sick, very sick. Please, we need help.”

Everybody was staring at each other and Morghian moaned, the dark mist she had seen leave the shaft before it was closed, the monster was seeking its vengeance from beyond the grave. What now?


	7. A rekindled flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is the last one, and it is a bit explicit just so you are warned,

Chapter seven : A rekindled flame…

They all felt how a new sense of dread filled them, they could fight a substantial enemy, but a disease was something very different. Yliahr roared and crushed mites and Arazz and Kheran were flying swiftly over the battle field almost herding the mites with flames and arrows. Qu’ghan and Bloodjaw were also doing quite some damage and Morghian stared at Wougar and R’enith. “ We have to go and see if there is anything we can do. Yliahr will most certainly be able to stop the mites, there aren’t that many left by now”

The elves were already running towards the huge group of refugees and Morghian felt dizzy and sick. She had used too much of her strength and now she had to pay the prize. She was clinging to the saddle and Wougar and R’enith were a bit worried. They had never seen her this drained since she fought against the enemy back in their own world.   
Thranduil were riding hard next to them and they soon reached the refugees, they hadn’t managed to get very far away from the mountain and it soon became apparent that this new disease affected all races. Some elves were ill too although it wasn’t that many they were really affected by it. And Wougar had to stare and swallow in disbelief, he had never seen anything like this. The sick people were covered in sweat and breathing hard and their skin had turned a nasty shade of grey while they were bleeding from every orifice and the muscles were cramping, causing intense agony.

A woman came running towards them, she was pale and her eyes filled with dread. “ My lords, the children are dying. It affects them first!” 

Morghian moaned and she could see that the dwarves were trying to separate the sick from the unaffected to reduce the risk of spreading but she knew that the disease was in the air itself. Everybody could become ill now, nobody were safe. It was indeed a vengeance from beyond the grave and a terrible one too. Wails of sorrow and screams of agony filled the air and the elven king were roaring orders to his warriors to erect tents and gather the healers they had brought.   
Morghian stopped her mare and dismounted, the sounds of the battle had stopped, all the mites were dead and Arazz came in for a swift landing in front of the line of tents. Kheran jumped off and his face looked like stone as always but his eyes did betray his feelings. He was terrified, this was not an enemy you could face with a sword in your hands.   
The elven healers were good, they were highly skilled and efficient and before long they had gotten a sort of overview of the situation. Morghian and the others had gathered in the tent erected for the king and even Yliahr was there now, she was in agony but didn’t need any medical attention. She would heal on her own rather well. Abry had shifted back and she was covered in blood and grime and looked rather terrible. She did stink too, so bad she went to take a bath in the lake even though it was ice cold.   
Dain came by, panting and wild eyed. He looked tired after all the fighting but he still had some strength left. “ We have lost almost twenty dwarves already, half of them dwarflings. We cannot afford to lose any of our young ones.”

Thranduil sat in a chair, slumped forward and visibly pale. More than fifty elves were sick and he feared for his son. Legolas were busy helping out wherever he could and Thranduil didn’t as much fear for himself as for his only child. Morghian wished that she could have helped everybody in some way but she was no healer. Wougar and R’enith were already in the tents trying to help the healers by singing the healing songs of their people and they did help those who were the least affected but the death toll was increasing. More and more got ill and panic had struck. Many tried to flee from the site while others turned aggressive and nasty. It became rather apparent that the humans were the ones most vulnerable, the people from Dale were in a state of panic by now for more than four out of ten had already fallen ill. Morghian couldn’t stand it anymore, she had to get out and do something.

She left the tent and went to the huge tent where the healers were working, she heard Wougar’s deep rough voice and R’eniths clear soprano and it was lovely to listen to but she did know what it meant. Using such songs were the last resort, the last chance. The healers had erected a black tent behind the huge one, containing the dead and the warriors were carrying a covered body into it with alarming regularity. Morghian saw that the beds were soaking with blood and the heat in there was incredible. She just stared and an elven maiden in a blood covered dress just nodded to her. “ It is the fever, they are both burning and bleeding at once.”

Kheran had followed her, he always did and he put a hand on her shoulder. “ Morghian, this reminds me of something.”

She turned her head, stared at him. His voice was calm but tense and she saw his fear in his eyes. She was human after all, very vulnerable compared with him. “ What?”

Kheran made a grimace. “ When I was a recruit, thousands of years ago, I was on an expedition to one of the kingdoms in the south. And there they suffered from a plague, it was pretty much like this one but didn’t kill that fast.”

Morghian tilted her head, she suddenly had a sense of urgency. “ Did they have any sort of remedy to use against it, a cure?”

Kheran nodded. “Yes, they would lower the sick people into cold water, but they didn’t have much of that back there, it was a very hot country, almost a desert.”

Morghian was almost stepping on the spot. “ And it cured them?”

Kheran shrugged. “ No, but it did slow the disease down.”

One of the elven healers had been eavesdropping to their conversation and snapped his fingers and shouted an order to the others. “ Put the children in water, the lake is cold”

Kheran stared at the elf, his eyes were a bit distant. “ It didn’t save them!”

The elf nodded. “ It could help saving some lives until we can find a cure for this”

Morghian shook her head. “ A cure? How in heck’s name can we find a cure for something like this? It had spread through the air damn it, it is everywhere around us I bet. There is nothing we can do.”

The elf sent her a sad grin. “ Don’t give up hope, there has to be something, some remedy.”

Legolas had entered the tent, he was supporting a groaning warrior who were sweating and bleeding from the nose and his eyes were dark with horror and fatigue. “ We are losing this battle, more are getting ill by the hour.”

Morghian sobbed, the agony of those assembled there was just too much and she felt so terribly helpless. Kheran kissed her brow and she could feel that he trembled, this affected him more than he was willing to admit. He grasped her by her shoulders. “ Let’s get out of here, we can do nothing.”

She let him lead her back to the royal tent and she sat down in a comfortable chair and felt as if the ground was swallowing her. She was so weak, so confused. Kheran knelt down next to her, letting her lean against his hard shoulder. It felt comforting knowing he was there but it didn’t really ease her pain. The beast would win, it was such a bitter thought. She had heard the tales of cities under siege being infected with the plague from cadavers tossed over the walls but this was so much worse.   
Thranduil had gotten rid of his armor and he was clad in a soft robe and looked as regal as normal but his eyes were so dark and he was shivering slightly. Abry sat in a corner, gnawing at some dried meat and Qu’ghan was staring at the tarp of the tent as if it was to reveal some great secret he couldn’t miss. The king hadn’t even touched the wine his servants had left for him and he was walking around in circles, trying to think. “ I wish Elrond was here, he is the best healer of our world but I doubt that even he could have done much. This disease is new to us all”

Abry hissed and tossed the meat away. “ Indeed, but it has to follow the laws of nature right? We have to learn more, learn how it kills, how it works. Know thine enemy remember?”

Thranduil raised an eyebrow, he stared at her with a bit of shock. She was in fact smarter than anyone could have guessed from her looks. “ That is right, but this is no ordinary battle.”

Abry growled, the feral side of her was visible now, glowing in her eyes. “ I would say that it indeed is a battle, against that cursed contamination. We can’t just roll over in submission, not anymore.”

Thranduil cocked his head. “ So what would you want us to do little one?”

Abry got up. “ What do we know of this malady? It makes people bleed and it creates a very high fever, it is the blood loss that in the end kills them. There has to be a way to stop it right?”

Dain had entered the tent with some of his best scholars, they had never heard of anything like this and wanted to know of the elves had ever encountered a disease like this one. He snapped his fingers. “ There is a herb, known only to my people. We use it rarely for it has some nasty side effects but it does stop bleeding, in the right dosage.”

Thranduil stared at the dwarf. “ The right dosage, what if it is wrong?”

Dain shrugged. “ Easy, you die! The blood stops flowing, forms one huge clot. It has to be perfectly balanced”

The elf stared at the dwarf, he was shocked by the fact that the dwarves had something of which the elves were oblivious, they had always thought that they had the best healers of all the races. “ How do you do that?”

Dain grinned. “ By weight, the patient has to be weighed. One ounce off and you are done for, so it is very dangerous but it might work, it might.”

Thranduil took a deep breath. “ The side effects?”

The dwarf king made a grimace. “ You’ll get delirious, have some horrible hallucinations and be weakened for weeks. And develop an appetite for certain things that would put that of a hobbit to shame.”

Thranduil frowned. “Certain things?!”

Dain blushed. “ Let’s just say that the ones who are medicated thus will experience a…somewhat…raging…libido! For a few weeks.”

The elf scoffed. “ Eru, that sounds like a most horrible cure.”

Dain shrugged again. “ Yes, like I said, it is not to be trifled with but it could work, if we can save some lives it will be worth the discomfort.”

Abry stared at the stocky dwarf. “ Do you have any of that medicine?”

Dain turned to his scholars. “ Do you know of any in the apothecary? Or the storage rooms?”

One of the dwarves, a rather young one with hundreds of tiny braids in his beard nodded. “Yes, there is at least five jars in the storage rooms. They are old but as long as it has been kept dry it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Thranduil let out a sigh of relief. “ Then go get it, please. And I will let you borrow our best horses, make it swift.”

Dain rushed out of the tent and the scholars followed him, they heard him roar orders and some elves came running with some tall long legged horses, able to outrun any dwarf pony. Thranduil sighed and leaned back against his chair, Morghian thought that he looked more tired than ever and she got a strong suspicion that quickly was confirmed when she saw a trickle of blood slowly emerging from his right nostril.   
The king felt the moisture and lifted a hand, tried to wipe it away and stared at his hand with eyes that gradually got enormous with shock. He whimpered and suddenly he was paper white. “ Eru no, not now, not yet!”

Kheran saw what happened and was out of the tent looking for a healer within the blink of an eye and before long he returned with the senior healer and Legolas who let out a shriek of shock and fell to his knees on front of his father, embracing him tightly. “ Ada, don’t you dare dying, you can’t leave me!”

The elven king was trembling and he was already sweating, he had been weakened by the battle fought and now the sickness was progressing very fast. The healer had a dark expression in his eyes and Morghian bit her lower lip. This was horrible, it couldn’t be true. There had to be something they could do.

Some servants came running with a huge bathtub made from wood, they filled it with cold water and even some pieces of ice and the healer barked orders and managed to get the trembling elf into it. Legolas refused to let go of his father’s hand and he was whispering words of encouragement and love all the time.

Morghian left the tent, she couldn’t stand to see somebody suffering and she realized that if Thranduil died this realm would be in serious trouble. Why she didn’t know but she trusted her instincts. She stared at the stars up above, she hadn’t realized that the day already was over. Tears filled her eyes, she heard the cries and the screams too darn well, cursed her hyper sensitive senses. One of the healers came running by with a bucket of ice water and she grasped onto the elleth. “ Is the cold water working?” 

The elleth nodded. “Yes, but it doesn’t remove the fever, it only lowers the temperature.”

Morghian nodded and sighed. They were treating the symptoms, not fighting the disease itself. She fell to her knees, warm tears caressed her cheeks and she heard Kheran’s footsteps behind her, a strong hand touched her neck gently and she leaned into it, hungering for comfort and love. “We can only hope”

His voice was a mere whisper and she groaned. “ I refuse to give in to an enemy but how do we fight this? I am a dragon damn it, powerful. And yet at this moment I am helpless, like a newborn babe.”

Kheran sighed and embraced her, his strong arms felt like iron but she didn’t mind, she needed his strength now. “ I know the feeling, believe me.” 

They stood there, just watching the stars. The dwarves returned on steaming horses and the jars were delivered to the healers. The king’s elves had managed to find some huge weights in Dale, normally used by the merchants to find the weight of everything from barrels of grain to rolls of cloth and they were distributed to the tents. Soon the healers were treating everybody with the herb and as Dain had said, it did stop the bleedings. A few did in fact die since they were more sensitive to the medicine than normal but most survived the dosage they got. But people were still getting sick, the disease didn’t just stop and many thought that it was the end of the world. Five jars were a lot but it wouldn’t last forever and if everybody in the valley got ill it wouldn’t be enough for more than half of them. And then it was the fever. The ice cold baths did lower the temperature a little but many did succumb to the fever too.   
Morghian and Kheran had returned to the tent. R’enith and Wougar were there too and they were exhausted. Qu’ghan and Abry sat there in a tight embrace and Yliahr had left the camp, she couldn’t stand the stench of blood and death. A part of the tent had been sealed off and the king was being treated there, he had gotten his fair share of the medicine and they heard him moan in agony as the side effects kicked in. He was screaming for his father, for his wife, then he obviously fought some dragon and was howling in fear and agony and they heard the prince sobbing with despair and fear.   
It made Morghian’s heart almost break and she knew that the number of dead people already was rather high. And more would die too, it was horrible. The healers were working like mad, some had already brought the strongest of the sick down to the shore and placed them in the lake. It helped but did only prolong the agony and didn’t stop them from dying, it just bought the sick a few more hours. Wougar looked beaten, his skills as a shaman were useless now and R’enith was green in the face and her eyes huge. Seeing children die crushed her spirit and she had already watched how more than a dozen young ones fell victim to this awful plague.   
One of the healers emerged from the king’s private chamber, he was pale and shivering. Abry stared at him with pleading eyes, she had started to care about this ellon and didn’t want to hear of his death. “ How is he?” 

The healer cringed visibly. “ Not well, he isn’t losing any more blood but the fever is so high. The cold water doesn’t help at all. And he is terribly delirious, we had to sedate him rather heavily.”

Abry just nodded and sobbed and Wougar closed his eyes. “ I fear that this realm will mourn many when the dawn breaks.” 

Qu’ghan swore and tossed an ice bucket at the tent wall, he was close to tears too. “ It isn’t fair, isn’t there anywhere safe, anywhere with powers enough to save at least some?”

The healer shook his head. “ No, sorry. If an elf is ill he or she can chose to sail to Valinor but none of those sick are strong enough to survive such a long journey, It takes weeks just to reach the havens by the sea.” 

Wougar nodded. “ They have hours, not weeks. The sea is probably a long way from here?”

The healer nodded. “ Yes, across the mountains. I have never seen it though, the forest realm has always been my home”

Morghian moaned. “ If I had been able to shape shift I could have flown those sick to this Valinor place I am sure.”

The elf shook his head. “Only elves are allowed to reach the blessed realm, mortals will not find it anymore. It has been moved away from this world.”

Qu’ghan was staring at the tub with water that still stood in the middle of the room, he had a peculiar expression upon his face. “ I have seen the sea once, back home. It was lovely, so blue and pure and we wanted to bathe but was told not to. It was dangerous.”

Wougar frowned. “ Oh, rip-currents?”

The blue haired elf shook his head. “ No, a fish. The beaches were teeming with them. They look like tiny rocks but if you step on them they will sting you and it is a poisonous sting, it hurts like hell.”

Wougar snapped his fingers. “ I have heard of them, the only way to save the person is to put the stung limb into very hot water.”

R’enith suddenly let out a strange sound, she was staring at them with huge eyes. “ We are morons, no, worse. Complete idiots. We have looked at the problem from the wrong direction!”

Morghian just gawked. “What are you talking about?”

R’enith was on her feet. “ The fever, it isn’t the fever that is killing them, it is what the fever is trying to destroy. The disease is in their blood right? The fever is the body’s way of fighting an infection. We have been wrong.”

The healer blinked twice, then he shouted. “ Heat! That is what they need!” 

Wougar was on his feet too. “ Yes, heat, a lot of it. To help the fever fight off the infection, they have to sweat it out.”

Morghian just stared as the huge elf rushed out of the tent and the healer followed him, screaming orders. She suddenly had an idea and ran into the woods, desperately searching for Yliahr. Luckily she found the she dragon rather fast and explained the plan to her. They ran back and now there was frantic activity everywhere. Morghian found the head healer and explained and before half an hour was gone by a house on the outskirts of Dale was transformed to a sauna, fueled by the heat Yliahr managed to create with a few well aimed bursts of flame. The heat within the house was close to unbearable but it apparently did the trick. The sick didn’t die.   
Thranduil was also put into the house and Legolas followed him although the prince suffered from the heat. He refused to leave his father and had to endure a temperature that was extreme. Even the dwarves thought it was too hot for comfort and they were used to the blistering heat around their huge forges. The healers could only pray that this worked and everybody was crossing their fingers.

Morghian and the others had gathered and sat there waiting for any news, they were tired and silent and Morghian wanted to sleep but she couldn’t. She was too stressed out, to filled with adrenaline and worries. Kheran was sipping some wine, his eyes were distant. “ Even if we manage to save those who are sick now more will get ill if we cannot clean the air of the infection.”

Wougar snorted. “ It has probably spread far by now, there is little that can be done with it.”

Kheran stared at the small stove somebody had shoved into the tent in order to make a hot meal, the heat from it make the air shiver and he had a distant expression on his face. He turned to Qu’ghan. “ I saw a map in the kings tent, could you be so kind as to go and get it?”

Morghian frowned. “ What are you thinking about?” 

Kheran mumbled. “ An idea, if I am right it could work, there is a small chance.”

Qu’ghan left and returned after a few moments, he was carrying a map and Kheran grasped it and placed it on a table. “ See? I noticed something odd during the battle, when I and Arazz were flying. This valley is a bit like a bowl with the lake at the bottom.”

Qu’ghan frowned. “ More like a trough I would say, elongated. But yes, I see.”

Abry tilted her head. “ And?”

Kheran sent her a swift smile. “ There was no wind, the air in this area is rather stagnant. I don’t think the disease has been able to spread outside of the valley just yet. It is like smoke, it needs some wind to spread.”

R’enith bit her lower lip. “ When the sun rises there is always some breeze, it will spread the infection beyond the valley.” 

Kheran nodded. “ Yes, so we have to cleanse the air before that” 

Abry scowled and pulled her blanket tighter around her, it was rather cold there. “ And just how do you plan upon doing that?” 

Kheran caressed Morghian’s cheek. “ Are you ready for some heat people?”

Everybody just stared and Morghian scoffed. “ Kheran, I am incapable of creating that much flame, I am no longer strong enough!”

Kheran turned her around and stared straight into her eyes. “ Morghian, do you remember that night on the plains? The night you became mine and I yours? Do you remember how we felt as though we no longer were two separate beings but one? And how we awakened the dormant circle underneath the city?”

Morghian blinked, she blushed at the memories but an understanding was forming within her. “Some of your powers became mine that night Morghian, and they are forever a part of me. And I was the original chosen one, the true dragon born remember? But my spirit was too wild, too violent. The forces didn’t dare to awaken the flame resting within my spirit, I could have become an even worse enemy than the leader of the dark dragons. But now I have you to keep me in balance.”

Morghian backed off a step, staring at him. “ Do you seriously suggest that we should…? Oh no, no I don’t. Not now, I…I just can’t!”

Kheran’s eyes were tender but also filled with mirth. “ No? Not even if it can save everybody?” 

Morghian made a keening sound, she squirmed.” I can’t, believe me. I…I am not in the mood damn it”

Wougar stared at them, his eyes were serious. “ It might work, in fact I am rather sure it would work. You are bonded, her powers will unleash yours, it is the only chance we have to stop the disease. Sunrise is just a few hours away, you have to try”

Kheran kissed her brow. “ Listen to him my light. He is right, it is the only way.”

Morghian felt her cheeks burn like crazy. “ Oh sweet lord, this is awkward.” 

Kheran went over to the tent opening and said something to the elven guard placed outside of it and before two minutes were gone an elven servant entered carrying a bottle of wine. “ This is the strongest we have, very old Dorwinion. I would not recommend it for a human being, it is…extremely potent. Even the king himself only drinks one glass of this, more would knock even him out.” 

Kheran grinned. “ Oh it will be alright, worry not. This is what we need.”

The servant looked a bit like she was in doubt and Kheran just waved his hand, signaling that she should leave. He grasped Morghian by her shoulders, stared deep into her eyes. “ Listen, where there is a spark there is gonna be a fire and sparks do fly when we are together right? We just have to let them become physically expressed.”

Morghian whimpered and Kheran nodded at the others. “ There is a secluded place in the forest behind the camp, I am taking her there. You go prepare everybody for a firestorm!”

Wougar grinned and slapped Kheran on his shoulder. “ Be gentle with her, or perhaps the opposite? Anyway, you are our hope”

Morghian swallowed hard, she remembered when they awakened the circle, the feeling of being controlled by something way larger than herself, of being a pawn in a game played by forces she hadn’t even believed in. The idea of surrendering once more to such influence didn’t exactly tempt her but Kheran grasped her hands and kissed them, then he poured her a very generous amount of the wine. “ Here, drink. It will be easier if you relax a bit, forget about the situation.”

She rolled her eyes and then she took a sip of the wine. It tasted wonderfully and she was thirsty. Before she really realized it she had emptied the cup and stared at it in shock. Kheran grinned widely. “Now that is my girl, and now, let’s get to work”

Abry winked at them as Kheran lifted his mate and tossed her across his shoulder as if she was a bag filled with laundry. “ Have fun!”

Morghian shrieked and was clinging on to him desperately. She felt extremely light headed and dizzy and fun?! This was not going to be fun! 

 

At the house the sick were sweating the disease out and Legolas was sweating too. Elves have a higher tolerance for heat than humans but this tested even their endurance. Thranduil was unconscious, drenched in sweat and blood and Legolas was sobbing. He was so terribly afraid of losing his father, he wasn’t ready to take the crown, he didn’t want to become king but if his father died that was just what he had to accept. And through the delirium his father had revealed how much he really loved his son, he just wasn’t able to say those words to his face. The healers were running around checking on the sick and sometimes they would carry someone back outside and they were apparently healed. Legolas was praying the whole time, desperately. Whatever the valar would demand, he was ready to give it if his father could be saved. 

Kheran carried Morghian with him to a clearing in the woods, she whimpered and felt a need to protest fervently. She didn’t want to lay with him, she wasn’t in the right kind of mood and she felt tired and a bit sick too. Kheran dropped her onto the soft ground and caught her gaze with his own. “ Listen to me Morghian, remember what you did in the circle? I had to be the passive one, the one submitting, the one being used. This time it is the opposite. Just let go of everything and allow me to give you pleasure. The rest will happen by itself, I just know it.”

She sighed and tried to sit back up but he pushed her down. “ I wish I had your confidence love”

Kheran grinned. “ It is what you love about me, that I am confident.” 

He opened her tunic and pulled it off her, then the undershirt and her boots and socks were removed and then the pants and panties were pulled off in one quick tug. Morghian felt exposed, shy. Why she didn’t know for he knew her body just as well as his own and she had always loved that admiring glint within his eyes. It was there now, the flint grey eyes were caressing her, worshiping her and she saw the lust rising in them. She giggled but felt nervous, wasn’t really ready for anything like this. Kheran got up, stood there looking down at her as he slowly removed his own garments. He looked like a God in the starlight, like something ancient and divine and powerful.

She shivered, half in anticipation and half out of sheer nervousness, she knew he never would hurt her but this was no ordinary situation. Kheran had a wicked glint within his eyes and a crooked grin as he stood there, towering above her. He had an amazing body, even for an elf and she had always compared him with a huge cat of some sort. Now he just stood there, looking down at her with the flames of desire dancing within the flint grey eyes, and he started to stroke himself slowly and deliberately, knowing that watching him doing that always turned her on.   
Morghian swallowed hard, he had closed his eyes and were moaning softly and she couldn’t help it. Her own body started to respond and the doubt she had felt was slowly dissipating like fog for the sun. He grinned and went down on his knees next to her, oh by the dragons how he knew her. “ I know you want this, deep and hard and I won’t stop until I hear you scream my name.”

He was caressing his length and breathing hard and she surrendered, spread her legs and felt how her heart was speeding up. “ Yes.”

That was all she could say and he nodded. “ Then allow me to lead, to show you the way.” 

He was kneeling in front of her and leaned forth, kissed her navel and then he went even further south, she couldn’t hold back a shriek. He knew exactly what he was doing, how to play her like a musician uses an instrument and before long she was gasping and moaning and writhing desperately. She had grasped onto his long hair, desperately hoping for him to continue and he did. Before long she screamed his name and came so hard she saw stars and sparks.

Kheran pushed himself up over her and she lifted her legs, wrapped them around his slender waist as he entered her with one powerful thrust. He groaned and rolled his eyes in absolute pleasure and she whimpered and knew that whatever happened, she couldn’t regret this. They were made for each-other, two halves of a whole and she remembered her first lover and his sometimes chauvinistic attitudes. She had loved Ayren for sure but he would have bored her in the end, he wasn’t strong enough to cope with her true self. She remembered the day she had surrendered her virginity to him, on the floor of the hall of his apartment. She had confessed to having done the deed the day after to her friends and they had giggled and told her she was lucky her first lover was human and not an elf. She would have been unable to walk is she had let one of the deathless claim her. Now she was bonded with an elf and she had to admit that her friends were right, when it came to endurance and sheer eagerness Kheran did beat Ayren, and that by a lot. 

Kheran was kissing and licking her neck, panting and moving in a rhythm he knew was right for them both, he wanted to make this perfect, to make the feelings strong enough to awaken the fire slumbering within them both. Morghian was whimpering, mewling, pleading for him to thrust harder and faster but he didn’t comply, this had to be just right for it to work. Her fingernails were cutting his skin and she had such strong legs but he was stronger, able to control his rhythm perfectly. He panted but was able to speak. “Look at me, let our bond carry our spirits off.”

She met his eyes, flint and fire, opened her mind to him and he gently let his spirit merge with hers. They were floating in pleasure, embraced by bliss and Morghian felt him touching the very core of her being, and he allowed the similar part of his spirit to become one with it. It felt like lightning struck them, like every nerve was awakened in an entirely new way. Kheran growled and she felt that feral force that was his very truth rush through her, claiming his birthright, his identity as a true dragon born. And then they both reached their bodily climax and Morghian arched and screamed and he roared, thrusting almost desperately into her while he spilled. And the air around them suddenly cracked and sparkled, heated up. It started to rise, and got even hotter. 

Kheran pulled them around, had her straddling his lap, continued to thrust and forced their ecstasy to continue by sheer will. Morghian thought she would die from it, it had never been that overwhelming even when they awakened the circle, she just let herself go and forgot everything else than the unity they had become. The air was incredibly hot around them now, rising rapidly, Kheran was using her ability to control fire and fueling it with his own powers and thus, while being as one, both could tap into what was lost and what was never released. A column of super-heated air did rise above the wood and it sucked air into it from the area around. It formed a flaming tornado and the wind was soon roaring in from every direction.

The camp was alerted but the sight of the burning column of air scared many and the wind was so strong. It tore many tents to pieces and debris was flying everywhere. People ducked for cover wherever they could and Wougar and R’enith sat behind a boulder and grinned. “ I bet he has been able to awaken the dragon within really well.” 

R’enith giggled. “ Well something has awakened for sure, I wonder if this will work”

Wougar smiled and held her tight, the wind was hurricane force by now and howled between trees and buildings. “ It works, the heat will cleanse the air of any contamination.”

 

In the city everybody had sought cover and in the house turned into a sauna Legolas sat shivering, listening to how the wind tore at the fragile structure and he held onto his father’s hand as though it was a lifeline in spite of Thranduil being unconscious. This had to be a success, or else the people of this valley were doomed. 

 

Fire was dancing around them, like thin veils of light but it could not hurt them. Kheran’s eyes were glowing now, like Morghian’s eyes were and they were truly like one being. One mighty entity with capabilities they didn’t own on their own. Kheran had never become what he was born to be but through Morghian he could touch that part of his soul that was the legacy of his dragon forefathers and control fire. Morghian had lost the power to shift into dragonshape and she wasn’t strong enough to make the flames bow to her will but through Kheran’s strength she could.

The column of fire changed into the shape of an immense dragon, its wings stretched across the valley and the heat scorched the air but there was a layer of cold air underneath it so people could breathe. Everywhere evil creatures saw it and shivered and the infected air was sucked into the inferno and every tiny germ turned into vapor. It was draining the strength of the two lovers, but the power of the passion they shared pushed them on, enabled them to hold onto the connection until the sun started to lighten the eastern sky. The contaminated air was no more, the disease would spread no further and Kheran let go of the mind bond with a hoarse and sore scream. Breaking free felt like fire scorching the very soul, like dying, like having tasted sweet wine and being forced to drink bile. But they couldn’t maintain it, both returned to their own body and immediately they collapsed onto the heated ground, panting and half conscious.

Morghian was shivering all over, she had touched it yet again, the power she was born to wield and it had been so wonderful, and yet she couldn’t claim it for herself. It was frustrating but there was nothing she could do about it.   
Kheran tried to get up but he was too weak and collapsed again, swearing and gasping. It had drained them completely and Morghian groaned and pulled her knees up to her chest. She was aching everywhere but down there in special and she knew that she would have to avoid any vigorous love making for a while, it had become a bit too much.

They just lay there until Wougar and R’enith came strolling through the woods carrying blankets and some food. Both things were greatly appreciated and Morghian was relieved to hear that nobody was getting sick now. The plague was stopped and the sick ones were recovering rather well, the heat treatment was effective although unpleasant. 

Wougar carried Kheran and R’enith carried Morghian back to the camp and Morghian fell asleep the moment her head touched a pillow. While they slept the dwarves returned to the mountain and were happy to see that everything was as it had been, nothing was harmed at all. The humans returned to Dale and Esgaroth and only the elves stayed for a few more days. The sick elves needed more time to recover for some reason and the king in special. It took two days before he woke up and he was so weak they had to transport him in a wagon but he would make it and Legolas was weeping with relief and hugged both Morghian and Kheran even though the latter was a bit shocked by that expression of gratitude. 

The return to the palace was slow, and Morghian and Kheran spent most of the time in a carriage recovering. When they finally arrived many elves came to greet them, riders had been sent out telling everybody of the incidents and Morghian was very embarrassed by the attention she was getting. The king was still weak and having some hefty hallucinations and Legolas was very tired from watching over him. At the end the healers tricked him into drinking a sleeping potion and he was out for two days. By then Thranduil was awake and no longer suffering from the delirium induced by the dwarf medicine. He was genuinely pissed off since he was unable to do anything useful except lay in bed being tended to by healers and his infamous temper wasn’t exactly getting more mellow by this fact. 

A week after the return there was a feast held in honor of the guests and to celebrate their victory and now the king had recovered and so had the others too. The sick were all a little weak but otherwise on the mend and the atmosphere was light and filled with joy. Arazz and Bloodjaw had gotten some huge steaks and were enjoying life and Yliahr had recovered too.   
Morghian and Kheran were dancing and they had eyes only for each-other but the king was eying Qu’ghan and Abry and he was acting most peculiarly. Legolas did notice it but he didn’t mention it to his father, he remembered what the dwarves had said about the side effects of the medicine and he knew that several of the other elves were having the same problem.   
Suddenly both the king and the two guests were missing and Legolas was sniggering to himself and went in search of some similar company. This was a day to celebrate so why not do it properly?

 

The next day Morghian met Abry in the baths, she looked as if she had been in the middle of a tornado with her hair looking like a stack of hay. She had hickeys and bruises almost everywhere and Morghian raised an eyebrow and stared at a hickey placed in a very interesting location. “ Abry, what happened to you? You look like you have been in a battle?!”

Abry yawned and rolled her eyes, she sighed and moaned as she tried to stretch. “ Worse, I do not doubt that the herb is powerful, and by everything sacred, the effect on elves is terrifying! I cannot imagine how he has managed to control himself for as long as he has but last night he let go of that control. And I bet Qu’ghan looks just as bad as I do, if not worse”

Morghian had to giggle. “ Do you mean that….”

Abry bit her lower lip and pressed her knees together. “ I am sore Morghian, and ache in places I didn’t know I had, I have been with Qu’ghan for years and I tell you, he is vigorous and has an incredible stamina but that darn king?! It has to be the medicine he had to take, if not I do pity his late wife. She would have been exhausted on a permanent basis.”

Morghian laughed. “ It is the medicine for sure, worry not, it will wear off.” 

Abry bared her teeth. “ Let’s hope so, he has grown fond of the both of us and refuse to bed anyone else. If we have to endure a week or two of this neither of us will be able to move at the end of them.”

Morghian just grinned and left the bath and when they gathered in the throne room she did notice that the king looked rather disheveled and he couldn’t really concentrate about anything, he was squirming in his seat and Kheran sat so close to the distressed elf he could see everything and whispered to Morghian that the king in spite of the activities that night was sporting quite a hard on. The robes looked like a tent. It lasted until lunch, then he went missing for an hour and when he returned he appeared to have a hard time sitting down and Qu’ghan appeared a while later and looked like a cat who has found a whole bowl of cream all to himself. 

But slowly things returned to normal and everything was written down to be preserved for history and Wougar started to wonder if they ever were to return home. They were more than welcome to stay there but he sensed that their mission was over. The beast of Morgoth was soundly beaten and gone and Morghian did keep her promise and transformed a few diamonds to something akin to the false silmaril she had used to entice the monster. The dwarves were beside themselves with gratitude and Dain was getting almost a bit too bold, Kheran had to growl at him to get him away from Morghian. 

Abry and Qu’ghan would still sneak out of the king’s bedchamber in the early hours but they no longer looked as if they had endured something a bit too rough for their tastes and the king was more relaxed and agreeable than ever before. Then one day when the group was out riding a tall figure appeared in front of them and Morghian immediately knew that this was no human nor elf. The power was very tangible and real and she swallowed and knew that it was time. “ You are here to send us back?”

The figure nodded slowly. “ You will leave tomorrow, go back now and say your goodbyes.”

Wougar bowed his head. “ Why us?”

The figure lowered his hood, he looked like an elf but was taller and he was glowing. “Because you are strong, and able to find solutions where none other are able to. You were our hope, and we are grateful. You will be blessed, and remembered.”

Abry and Qu’ghan stared at the ground, both looked a bit sad and the vala cocked his head, there was a hint of mirth within his gaze. “Worry not, we will not separate those whose hearts beat as one. You will be given the opportunity to return whenever you like.”

Abry gasped and there was something rather tender in her eyes. “ I thank you!”

The vala smiled and nodded his head. “ I see you in the future of our world wild one, and also your beautiful blue haired partner. You will be important.”

He turned and stared at Morghian. “ Worry not, one day you will again cleave the skies on wings of your own. You are a weapon dragoneye, one chosen by the powers of light. We will meet again.”

He stretched an arm towards the heavens. “ Come here tomorrow at this time and I will return you to your world.”

R’enith smiled, she felt how genuinely good this creature was. “ We will be here.”

He faded out of sight and the group stared at each other. “ I am eager to return home but I will miss this too.” 

Kheran’s voice was soft and Morghian had to agree, she had started to love this forest and its inhabitants. They returned in silence and started packing and now they had quite a lot to bring with them. They had been given gifts and things enough for a whole army and Morghian had to leave some of the dresses she had gotten. She didn’t need that many and they would be ruined if she was to travel with them on a pack horse.   
The elves took the news of their departure well but there were many who were visibly saddened by the news. Legolas in special, he had grown very fond of them all and Thranduil was almost on the verge of asking them to stay. He didn’t want to be separated from Qu’ghan and Abry and the knowledge that they would be able to return was a great solace. The last night they spent together and Abry was teary eyed when she left the chambers to get changed into some more fitting garments. 

The elves were singing laments when they rode through the gates and Morghian was genuinely sad that they had to leave but there was no other way. This wasn’t their world after all and they were needed back home. Thranduil shocked everybody by kissing both Abry and Qu’ghan rather passionately for everybody to see and Legolas was blushing and trying not to look as if he had expected it.

 

The group was silent as they rode into the clearing, the vala stood there and he smiled and bowed his head. “You did what none other could have achieved, now the events of this world will happen as they ought to, with a few minor alterations that is. But the great song is ever changing and not even we can hear all of its nuances.”

Wougar placed a hand in front of his heart in a greeting and the others did the same. “ We are grateful for this chance to help”

The vala smiled and the air started to sparkle. “ I know, and you will all meet again. You are not done here yet, one day I am sure you once more will look upon these skies.”

Morghian felt some comfort hearing those words and Kheran squeezed her hand. Bloodjaw was sniffing at the vala’s robes and the creature stroked the great cat’s fur gently. “ Farewell my friends, remember, a whole world owes its survival to you. If that plague had been allowed to spread every single realm would have fallen victim to its power.”

Morghian blushed slightly and Kheran’s face looked even more like a stone face than before. The vala raised his hands and the forest around them began to fade, instead they saw a plain around them. “ Go now with our blessings. I am Mänwe and I am forever naming you friends of our world”

There was a jolt and then a swift gust of cold wind and when they opened their eyes again they stood on the plains outside of the forest where they had sought cover the night they were moved over to middle earth. Wougar sighed and closed his eyes. “ The stars are in the same position, we have lost no time.” 

Morghian nodded, she felt at ease and in a way grateful and yet something was nagging at her. She had sort of fallen in love with that world and she was feeling a sort of longing back already. Kheran smiled at her, a melancholic smile. “ We will return one day, he promised remember?”

She nodded and Arazz took off, flying in circles above them. “ I know, now, let us ride. There is much more land to explore.”

She took one long look backwards, the gateway was gone and there was no sign of the place they had been for so many weeks. With a sigh she urged her mare on and followed the shaman and his mate. Abry sent Qu’ghan a small smile and he returned it, she touched her belly swiftly, an almost hidden motion. She was sure and she also knew that Qu’ghan couldn’t be the father. One day the truth would be told, and she couldn’t wait to see his face. It would indeed be a moment worth remembering.

Back in the palace things got back to normal but for many years the spiders stayed away from the area around the palace, some strange sickness seemed to affect them and perhaps it was a coincidence or perhaps not. The elves remembered the visitors and Thranduil made sure that also Elrond and Galadriel were told of the events. If these heroes returned he wanted to make sure that also they would greet them in the proper way. He did miss his new friends but the relationship between him and his son had improved a lot and thus life returned to normal.

But he would never forget the day these strangers had appeared within his realm and at night he would often stand on his balcony, staring at the stars, wondering if they were looking at some of the same stars and if they were happy. In a small locket he kept two locks of hair, one dark and one blue and he would caress it with his fingers while watching the heavens above. “ One day we will meet again, and my heart will ache until it comes. May the valar bless you and protect you until then, my friends, my lovers, my hope.”


End file.
